Team India batting star Virat Kohli described the heartbreak suffered during the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, deeming it as a horrible hangover. The right-handed batter said he largely struggled to make sense of the defeat and didn't understand what to do next.
Due to rain, the reserve day came into play for the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in Manchester. With a modest 240 to set for an in-form Indian batting line-up, the conditions did favour the Black Caps' fast bowler and they dismissed the Men in Blue's top three cheaply. Despite best efforts from MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja, India lost by 18 runs and crashed out of the tournament.
Reflecting on India's T20 World Cup win last year, the 36-year-old remarked that it was massive due to the heartbreaks suffered by him and Team India in the past four occasions despite coming close. In an interview with Mayanti Langer, Kohli stated:
"We were emotional about because there were so many ups and downs. Personally if you ask me, I have had so many setbacks. 2014 final, 2016 semi-final - that really really hurt me. 2017 Champions Trophy final and 2015 semi-final. 2019 was also massive. That was also the first time that the semi-final got over, we were going to leave Manchester. You know when you wake up when you don't have an understanding of what you want to do. The feeling you get when you have a horrible hangover. I had no idea what I wanted to do, drink coffee or brush my teeth. What is the next step. Like I was completely gone."
Virat Kohli is the current custodian of the Orange Cap
The veteran batter has also established himself as a prolific run-getter in IPL and holds the Orange Cap currently with 505 runs in the 2025 edition in 11 innings at 63.12 with seven half-centuries alongside a best of 73*.
As far as the history of IPL goes, he is the highest run-getter with 8509 runs in 263 fixtures and has played for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) since the start of the tournament. With 973 runs under his belt in the 2016 edition, he holds the record for the most runs in a single season of IPL.
Kohli's form has been pivotal in RCB being at the top of the points table with eight wins in 11 matches so far. RCB have reached the finals thrice but lost all three but 2025 could be the year they break their trophy drought.
