Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra showered praise on Virat Kohli after he scored a match-winning knock of 100 runs against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Sunday, which helped India secure a six-wicket win.
Chopra hailed Kohli for standing tall when the situation demanded. Kohli wasn’t in the best of form while coming into this big game but he once again show that he is the man for big matches.
The right-hander became the fastest batter to complete 14000 ODI runs as he batted at the top of his game, getting to the personal milestone in 287 innings and breaking his idol Sachin Tendulkar’s record.
“Jahan matter bade hote hain, wahan Kohli khade hote hain (Kohli is always standing in the middle on the big stage). Questions were raised about his form, intent and fitness but he answered all the questions stupendously – 82nd international century and 51st ODI century. He has a personal enmity with Pakistan. Kohli’s Virat avatar is suddenly seen against this team,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
Chopra highlighted that Pakistan managed a below-par score of 241 runs on the board after Rizwan won the toss.
“This was a 270 to 280-run match but Pakistan couldn’t reach there. It’s otherwise said that a chase under 250 is easy, but small totals can get tricky if you lose back-to-back wickets. In such a scenario, Virat Kohli’s trademark things came to the fore,” he observed.
The renowned commentator hailed Virat Kohli for taking the game deep and finishing the job for the team.
“The first thing is that he never removes his sight from the big picture. He knows that he needs to play till the end and take the match deep because if he stays there, the pressure will not be on him but on the opposing team as you are scared of going into the forest since there is a lion there. Whether the lion eats you or not is a separate story. Until Virat Kohli is there, his fear will be there,” Chopra elaborated.
Chopra noted that Kohli kept his ego aside and looked in complete control when he played his trademark cover drives.
“He kept his ego aside. He stood there when Shubman was hitting boundaries. It didn’t bother him. When Shreyas was also hitting, it didn’t bother him. Against pace, he allowed the ball to come to him and didn’t go towards the ball with his hands. The trademark vintage Virat Kohli drives were seen, and those were not half volleys,” he said.
Chopra said Kohli respected Abrar Ahmed, who bowled decently for Pakistan in the middle overs.
“He batted beautifully. We saw him playing sweeps and reverse sweeps against spin during practice. He didn’t do that at all. He took singles off the back foot. He said that Abrar might be a kid and he was the godfather there, but he would give him respect. He was okay even if Abrar was bowling dot balls. In the end, he accelerated a little and reached his century,” Chopra observed.
India will next take on New Zealand at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on 2nd March.
