Former Indian batter Navjot Singh Sidhu lauded Virat Kohli after his fine knock in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa at Barbados on Saturday. Sidhu feels Kohli stood like the rock of Gibraltar in the sea of ruins.

Kohli had managed only 75 runs in the seven matches of the T20I showpiece but he was able to bring his best in the all-important final. The linchpin scored 76 runs off 59 balls with the help of six fours and two sixes to take India’s score to 176.

The right-hander scored three well-timed boundaries against Marco Jansen in the first over but he had to go back to playing run-a-ball as India lost three quick wickets of Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav to find themselves reeling at 34-3.

Navjot Singh Sidhu said on Star Sports, “When it mattered the most, when 1.5 billion Indians were praying for victory and hoping that we don’t choke at the final hurdle, he stood like the rock of Gibraltar in the sea of ruins. He kept one end intact and delivered the World Cup crown by performing when India’s ship was stuck.”

Sidhu hailed Kohli for embracing an aggressive approach despite low scores throughout the tournament. Kohli scored a run-a-ball 24 against Afghanistan and then scored 37 off 28 balls against Bangladesh.

“In this tournament, even when he scored 38 and 24, he didn’t let the run rate drop. There was a different kind of Virat. Virat Kohli, a man of adversity, a man of masses, a master performer, a genius. For me, he will always be remembered as an icon, as the greatest inspiration, and above all, a cup of joy for billions and billions who watch cricket all over,” he said in the same interaction.

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli scored 4188 runs in 125 T20I matches at an average of 48.7 and a strike rate of 137.04 and finished his T20I career on a high.