(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] The run-chase master, Virat Kohli, once again was at his best against Australia in India’s first World Cup 2023 match played in Chennai. India had a target of 200, and while chasing, the team got in a tough spot at one point, losing three wickets in just 12 balls. Mitchell Starc dismissed Ishan Kishan, and Josh Hazlewood bagged the wickets Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer as all the three bowlers failed to trouble the scorers.
However, sensible knocks of Kohli and KL Rahul helped India recover from the dreadful start. Kohli accumulated 85 runs off 116 balls, while Rahul amassed an unbeaten 97 off 115 deliveries. Both batters led India to their first World Cup 2023 win their 165-run stand.
Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir was all praise for Kohli. The 41-year-old acknowledged the efforts Kohli put into his game and appealed to young cricketers to learn from him about various aspects that he is good at.
“Imagine when you’re 2 or 3 down for two. You can’t go out there and hit a long ball. You will still need to be able to absorb the pressure and try and rotate those strikes. And I’m sure these young cricketers coming through will learn from Virat Kohli. That is very important and that is why he’s so consistent,” Gambhir said on Star Sports.
“And I’m sure I think a lot of these young cricketers in the dressing room will learn the importance of fitness, the importance of running between the wicket and the importance of how to rotate strike in the middle as well, because with this new format with T20 cricket, a lot of these new guys want to keep hitting the ball out of the ground,” he added.
Virat Kohli shattered numerous records with his 85-run innings against Australia. The 34-year-old Kohli recorded his third-highest score in the ODI World Cup. Kohli (9) surpassed former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin (8), Rahul Dravid (8), and Yuvraj Singh (8) to record the most 50-plus scores for India in the ODI World Cups. Additionally, he (113) broke the record of Kumar Sangakkara (112) by smashing the most 50-plus scores as a non-opener in ODIs. Moreover, Kohli (2785) surpassed Sachin Tendulkar (2719) in the list of most runs for India in ICC limited-over tournaments.