ndia's captain Virat Kohli gestures as he speaks during the training session ahead of the fourth Test cricket match between India and South Africa at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi on December 2, 2015. AFP PHOTO / Money SHARMA

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INDIAN great Sachin Tendulkar remains the gold standard of batting in the post-Bradman era, but Virat Kohli’s latest master class in Sunday’s World Twenty20 shootout against Australia has prompted comparisons with his famous compatriot. Not for the first time in the tournament, it took Kohli’s masterly knock to get India across the line against the reigning 50-overs champions.

Kohli remained unbeaten after a sublime 82, burnishing his reputation as arguably the best chaser in limited-overs cricket with a knock that reminded many of Tendulkar’s 143 against Australia in a 1998 one-dayer.

Shane Warne was at the receiving end of Tendulkar’s wrath in that match and 18 years since the contest, the Australian spin great saw Tendulkar’s shadow in Kohli’s latest knock. "Great knock by @imVkohli. Reminded me of one of your many special innings buddy," Warne tweeted to his great rival Tendulkar after Kohli secured India a place in the semifinals.

Kohli bejewelled his knock with two sixes and nine boundaries and sprinted tirelessly between wickets in a flawless display of limited-overs batting under pressure.

"Of the modern players, I’ve always thought that Brian Lara was the best placer of the ball," former Australia captain Ian Chappell told www.espncricinfo.com.

"I think I have got Brian in second spot now."

At 27, Kohli stands on the brink of batting greatness with 36 international centuries and averages of 44 in Tests, 51 in one-dayers and 55 in Twenty20 matches. It has been a fascinating transformation of a Delhi cricketer seen initially as another brash brat from the streets of a city long accused of inculcating aggression in its youth.

Since Kohli’s international debut eight years ago, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has closely watched the youngster transform into a mature match-winner. Kohli hates the idea of an on-field confrontation that doesn’t include him and Dhoni argued it suited the player who succeeded him as India’s Test captain.

"He will always be the same," Dhoni said after the victory in Mohali. "He will be an aggressive character who will take on challenges. But he will also improve. He is shifting in the right direction, but he is a tremendous character. He should not lose his character because that’s what his strength is."

Reuters