On Tuesday, India’s Virat Kohli and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson will play the biggest game of their time as captains of their respective teams when they clash in the first semi-final of the 2019 World Cup.
India, having finished top of the table, face New Zealand, who have stuttered into the semi-finals. However, the semi-finals will be a fresh start in the tournament and the margin for error will be same for both sides irrespective of what they have achieved in the tournament so far.
Kohli and Williamson have been the main men for the two teams in the past few years with the bat and although Rohit Sharma has stolen the thunder from Kohli this World Cup, Kohli-Williamson battle will remain a key one at many levels.
Read: Questions facing Virat Kohli as India seek a perfect XI for the NZ semi-final
However, this isn’t the first time the two captains have clashed in a World Cup semi-final. Confused?
Yes, Kohli and Williamson were captains as India faced New Zealand in the semi-final of the 2008 U-19 World Cup. Kohli’s India beat Williamson’s Kiwis by 3 wickets en route to winning the title. How the Indian captain would love a repeat!
Kohli and Williamson played crucial roles for their respective teams in that clash on February 27 at the Kuala Lumpur as India edged a low-scoring thriller.
Batting first New Zealand limped to 205/8 in their 50 overs. Williamson who opened the innings laboured to an 80-ball 37. However, it was a crucial inning and it prevented the Kiwis from getting bowled out for less than 200. Incidentally, it was Kohli who sent the Kiwis skipper back to the hut thanks to some neat glove-work from Shreevats Goswami.
On Monday, ahead of the semi-finals, when Kohli was reminded of the game and his dismissal of Williamson, he promised to remind his opposite number about the game.
“A lot of players from that World Cup from our batch, from their batch, from other teams as well, made it to their national teams & are still playing. I think it is a really nice memory. Neither me nor him could have ever anticipated that one day this will happen.”
“When we meet tomorrow I’ll remind him. It’s nice to realise that 11 yrs after, we’re captaining our respective nations again in a senior World Cup,” he added.
The Indian captain though didn’t remember taking the wicket of Williamson in that 2008 clash. “I got Kane’s wicket, really? I don’t think this will happen again,” he said.
Also Read: Why the Kuldeep-Chahal combination is no longer India’s definite pick for the semi-final
In reply, in an innings reduced to 43 overs due to rain, Kohli made a crucial 43 before being dismissed with India around 40 runs short of the revised target.
Williamson had a hand in the dismissal as he was the one who completed the catch to dismiss the Indian skipper.
With India winning the game, Kohli was adjudged the player of the match for his all-round display as India went on to lift the World Cup after victory over South Africa in the final.
Since that day, both Kohli and Williamson have gone from strength to strength and have written many chapters in their rivalry.
The greatest chapter though is likely to be played out at Old Trafford as Kohli and Williamson lead their respective sides out in another World Cup semi-final.
Indeed, what goes around does come around. Ask Kohli and Williamson.
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