'... Short of achieving our dream and with disappointment in hearts': Virat Kohli gets emotional after India's WC exit

Star batter Virat Kohli on Friday posted an emotional post following Team India's exit from the T20 World Cup after a defeat against England in the semi-final. Kohli tweeted that the outcome hurts and that although the team fell short of winning the World Cup, they take back plenty from an otherwise positive tournament.

"We leave Australian shores short of achieving our dream and with disappointment in our hearts but we can take back a lot of memorable moments as a group and aim to get better from here on," Kohli tweeted. "Thank you to all our fans who turned up in huge numbers throughout to support us in the stadiums. Always feel proud to wear this jersey and represent our country."

Kohli is the leading run-getter of the tournament with 296 runs at a stunning average of 98.66 including four half-centuries. But while four fifties from six innings is a terrific personal high for Kohli since returning at the Asia Cup, the former India captain would have willingly given up the honour for a World Cup win. Like the Indian team, this is also Kohli's fourth World Cup semi-final defeat, following the disappointments of the 2015 and 2019 50-over World Cups to go with the World T20 in 2016 in India.

In the 2019 World Cup in England, Kohli was the captain, and despite finishing top of the table after the group stage, the former India skipper had to ensure a heartbreak in the final which lasted more than 48 hours due to rain. Since India's 2011 World Cup win, where he delivered that iconic line about his idol Sachin Tendulkar, Kohli has won only one ICC event – the Champions Trophy in 2013.

The following year in 2014, Kohli was once again the star, racking up 319 runs in the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, the most by anyone. He was named the Player of the tournament but faced disappointment in the final where Sri Lanka defeated India by six wickets in Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara's T20I swansong.

In 2015, Kohli was India's third-highest run-scorer in the tournament behind Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. With 305 runs from eight innings, Kohli had an unusually quiet World Cup with one century against Pakistan. In the semi-final against Australia, Kohli was dismissed for 1 as he top-edged a pull from Mitchell Johnson as India went crashing out.

The World T20 in 2016 was Kohli and India's best opportunity to become World Champions. Kohli's bat roared again as with 273 runs, he emerged the second-highest run-scorer next to Tamim Iqbal of Bangladesh. It was during this tournament that Kohli played arguably his best T20 knock of an unbeaten 82 against Australia in the quarterfinal.

Kohli continued his brilliant form in the next game as well, scoring a crucial half-century before India ran into Lendl Simmons. The West Indies batter, coming in as a late replacement, played a blazing knock and entered the final, breaking the hearts of a million Indians.