MUMBAI: Virat Kohli, former India captain and Royal Challengers Bengaluru star, recently opened up on the emotional toll of India’s heartbreaking defeat in the 2019 Cricket World Cup semifinal against New Zealand. Speaking on the RCB Podcast, Kohli described feeling “dazed” and likened his mental state to a severe “hangover” after the match.
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The 2019 World Cup marked Kohli’s first as captain and third overall. India dominated the league stage, winning seven out of nine games. The semifinal in Manchester, spread over two rain-affected days, saw New Zealand post 239/8. India’s chase began disastrously, slumping to 5/3 and later to 92/6.
Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni revived hopes with a 116-run stand, but India eventually fell short, bowled out for 221 in 49.3 overs, losing by 18 runs. Reflecting on that moment, Kohli said, “You know, when you wake up and you have no kind of understanding of what you want to do. Like, you are dazed. It was like the feeling you get when you have a horrible hangover.”
Kohli added, “I had no idea what I wanted to do… I was completely gone. I could not make sense of it.”
He also recalled the impact of the weather delay and early morning conditions. “What are the odds? But then again… you cannot get lost in what happened to me.”
Kohli finished the tournament as India’s second-highest scorer with 443 runs. Rohit Sharma led with 648 runs, including five centuries. Other key contributors included KL Rahul, MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Hardik Pandya.
The 2019 tournament marked Kohli’s final ODI World Cup as captain. He later stepped down from T20I and Test captaincy, with Rohit Sharma taking charge across formats.
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