"I'll never forget some of the shots he played" - Glenn Maxwell reminisces about Virat Kohli's epic knock after retirement

Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who recently called time on his own international career, still cannot shake the memory of the night one man dismantled the Aussies single-handedly.

Following his recent retirement announcement, the Australian all-rounder looked back on career-defining moments, reserving special praise for Virat Kohli’s legendary 2016 T20 World Cup masterclass in Mohali.

"We got beaten by Virat Kohli in one night single-handedly," Maxwell said in The Final Word podcast. "It was one of the best things I've ever seen. I'll never forget some of the shots he played, it was pretty phenomenal."

The clash at the PCA Stadium served as a virtual quarterfinal with a semifinal berth at stake. Australia batted first and set a competitive target of 161. India stumbled early in the pursuit. The hosts collapsed to 49 for three inside eight overs.

Kohli then orchestrated an astonishing counterattack under immense pressure. He compiled an unbeaten 82 runs off 51 balls, striking nine fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 160.78.

With India needing 39 runs from the final 18 balls, Kohli launched a relentless assault. He took on James Faulkner and Nathan Coulter-Nile, scoring 32 runs off the 11 deliveries he faced in that span.

Maxwell admitted that watching such dominance proved sobering for the entire Australian dugout.

"But even a year like that, that was a huge missed opportunity, but you get beaten by one player, and that was probably what it sort of opened your eyes to," Maxwell explained. "It's like, sometimes it's not a team that beats you, it's like it's one player's individual brilliance that can take the game away from you, and that was probably eye-opening, I suppose, to a few of our players as well."

A brief summary of the India vs Australia 2016 T20 World Cup clash

The March 27, 2016, Super 10 clash at the PCA Stadium in Mohali was a virtual quarterfinal, with the winner advancing to the semifinals and the loser knocked out.

Australia batted first and got off to a flyer through Usman Khawaja (26 off 16) and Aaron Finch (43 off 34). India’s bowlers, led by Ashish Nehra (1/20), Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik Pandya, pulled the scoring back through the middle and death overs, restricting Australia to 160/6 on a tacky surface.

India’s reply began sluggishly. Shane Watson dismissed Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina, reducing the hosts to 49/3 in 7.4 overs. The required rate slowly climbed to 11.14 per over, leaving India needing 39 runs from the final 18 deliveries.

The finish was entirely dictated by Kohli. In the 18th over, he took down James Faulkner for 19 runs. In the 19th over, he picked apart Nathan Coulter-Nile for four boundaries. MS Dhoni finished the match with a boundary off the first ball of the 20th over, sealing a six-wicket win with five balls to spare.

Kohli was named Player of the Tournament in 2016, carrying India's batting line-up almost entirely on his own across five matches. He ended the tournament with an aggregate of 273 runs at an average of 136.50.

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