Manchester Diaries: Of Virat's agony and ecstasy, rig halogens for drying outfield

Virat Kohli has reached a stage in his illustrious career where he can afford to treat Pakistan game as another day at the job but back in 2009, he was scared after a failure against the arch rivals during a Champions Trophy game in South Africa.

Asked to recollect a tense and happy moment involving a Pakistan game, Kohli immediately referred to his dismissal against Pakistan at the Centurion in 2009.

"The tense (moment) was Champions Trophy 2009, where Yuvi fractured a finger and I was literally flown in and in two days time. I was playing against Pakistan at Centurion. I hadn't experienced anything like that before, and I played a very bad shot, and I couldn't sleep until 6:00 in the morning.

"I was looking (staring) at the ceiling and thinking, that's it, I've flown in, and now I'm finished. So that was the most-tense moment that I've experienced," he recalled.

However, the funny moment was at the expense of the rivals, who had a tough time during the high-profile semi-final at Mohali in 2011 World Cup.

"It happened during the World Cup, and in Mohali there was a little incident which I saw from the opposition side, which I can't really elaborate here (laughter). That was quite funny. It was involving Shahid Afridi and Wahab (Riaz).

"I was standing with the strikers, and I heard a conversation, which as I say, I can't elaborate here, but in a high pressure game, that made me laugh, that's all I can say."
Is he being pestered for passes?
Groundsmen working overtime: