India, Jan. 25 -- Virat Kohli's reputation as the ultimate master of a run chase in limited-overs internationals had been emphatically established by the time the sixth edition of the T20 World Cup made its way to India, for the first time. As if to burnish that fact, the then vice-captain produced a flawless, imperious half-century against Pakistan at Eden Gardens to help India bounce back from an opening game loss to New Zealand, but he knew, as well as anyone else, that that was history and would count for nothing going forward.

India's unconvincing campaign was at a knife's edge when they locked horns with Australia in the final Super 10 fixture for both teams, with a place in the semifinal at stake. It was a virtual knockout game, t...