Virat Kohli Reveals His 1 Nightmare That Keeps Him Awake At Night

Kohli reveals 2023 WC final loss still gives him sleepless nights [Source: AFP]Virat Kohli, the legendary batter, revealed that he still gets flashbacks of the heartbreaking defeat the Indian team suffered in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia. He compared the defeat to the one he and RCB suffered in the 2016 IPL final against Sunrisers Hyderabad.India played some outstanding cricket in the 2023 ODI World Cup, and the team went unbeaten as they reached the finale, setting up a date with Australia. However, the Aussies outplayed India and won their sixth World title.Kohli compares the 2023 World Cup final loss to IPL 2016 heartbreakKohli was the second-highest run-scorer in the finals for India (53), but he chopped on a Pat Cummins delivery onto the stumps, and the player himself revealed that the mode of dismissal gives him nightmares.Moreover, that tough loss was compared with the IPL 2016 defeat (when Kohli was within touching distance of grabbing his maiden IPL championship)."Before we won the IPL in 2025, I used to get flashbacks of the 2016 final. I feel the same about the World Cup final as well. I was playing on 54 and had set myself up for a big hundred; like, if I got 140-150, we would be in a great position to win that game. But as soon as I played on, it was very tough to process for many days," he said in an interview with JioStar.Similarity between IPL 2026 loss and 2023 heartbreakThe two tournaments have plenty of similarities, and Kohli is someone who can relate to them. In IPL 2016, RCB played some of their best T20 cricket as they reached the finals and were the overwhelming favourites against SRH.Kohli himself led from the front as he scored an astonishing 973 runs in the IPL, the most by any batter in a single IPL edition. However, disaster struck as David Warner and SRH came out of the syllabus, and the RCB side came within touching distance of grabbing the trophy before it slipped away.Also Read: Virat Kohli Confirms His Last Tournament For IndiaSimilarly, in the 2023 ODI World Cup, India were outstanding as they demolished every opponent and reached the final without breaking a sweat. Just like in IPL 2026, Kohli finished as the top run-scorer in the World Cup with 765 runs.However, Australia, who were the underdogs, dismantled the Indian side, with Travis Head scoring a match-winning ton to seal the deal for his team.How Kohli's wicket was the turning point in 2023 ODI World Cup finalOn a sluggish wicket in the 2023 ODI World Cup final, India batted first, and Rohit Sharma gave a fiery start to the Indian side.India lost Shubman Gill early, but Rohit scored a brisk 47 off 31 balls. Once he departed, Kohli and KL Rahul took charge of the proceedings, but on a slow wicket, runs were hard to come by.The 37-year-old batter scored a vital fifty in the finals, but Australian captain Pat Cummins had the last laugh as he dismissed India’s number 3, and it changed the course of the game. Once the former Indian captain departed, the rest of the batting fell like a pack of cards as India only managed to score 240.When Kohli was dismissed, the score was 148, and from there onwards, the rest of the batters couldn’t even score 100 runs.Also Read: India vs West Indies Head To Head Records- 1st ODI, West Indies Tour Of India 2026