Nakul Shivani/ New Delhi

A king rules one nation. An emperor rules an entire race.

When Virat Kohli hit his sixteenth run against Bangladesh in India’s Group Super 12 match in the ongoing T20 cricket world cup, he surpassed many greats to become the highest run-getter in the history of the championship.

Kohli now has 1065 runs in 23 innings at an average of 88.75 over five world cups.

Kohli is the highest run-getter in the history of T20 World Cups

On his way to this record, he silenced many fans who had written him off just a few months back and had begun to write his obituary as a cricketer.

His date with T20 world cups started in Sri Lanka in 2012 where he scored 185 runs. He was the top-scorer in the 2014 edition in Bangladesh and the second-highest run-getter in 2016. He was adjudged the player of the tournament in 2014 and 2016 – the only player to be given this award twice.

In addition, he has won the six man-of-the-match awards – highest in T20 world cups.

Kohli came into this world cup at the back of many fans feeling diffident about his form. But as he himself put it in the post-match conference after the Bangladesh tie, “I was grinning from ear to ear when I came to know Australia will host the world up 2022.”

“I was grinning from ear to ear“, Kohli said when he came to know Australia will host the T20 World Cup

He knew this could be his make-or-break tour. And he was prepared for it. He knew there will be no lens as hard and close on any player in the Indian team than him.

No one knows better than the newly crowned Emperor that he has followed each adversity with a masterclass. Like a cyclist pedaling in no hurry, he has bided his time to show his mettle to the world, just when it mattered.

He has let his poor form become aberrations, a small speck on the horizon. With each passing bad day in office, Kohli has returned to redefine ‘incredible’ on a cricket pitch.

Virat Kohli celebrates his 34^th birthday even as India looks to win the T20 world cup for only the second time in seven attempts.

T20 World Cup has establlished Virat Kohli as the 'Emperor'

In this edition of the T20 world cup he started with a masterclass – a 53-ball 82 run inning to get his team off to a winning start in the tournament. Next against the Netherlands he hit an unbeaten 62 in 44 balls. After a 12-run innings against South Africa, he came back with a sterling 64 not out against Bangladesh.

It was his match-winning knock against Pakistan in the tournament opener on October 23, that made King Kohli an Emperor.

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Here’s wishing the young Delhi-lad who postponed his father’s funeral because of a cricket match, and one who has always dreamt of holding a bat and winning matches for India a very happy 34^th birthday.