Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra hailed Virat Kohli after his match-winning knock in the semifinal of the Champions Trophy against Australia at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Tuesday.
Chasing 265 for a spot in the final, Kohli once again proved his mettle in the run-chase, scoring a fine knock of 84 runs off 98 balls. The talisman scored only five fours and took 56 singles in his knock as he batted at the top of his game.
There was pressure on India as Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were dismissed cheaply but Kohli added 91 runs with Shreyas Iyer, who added 45 runs to continue his good form.
“When he came to bat, Shubman Gill had gotten out. We had great expectations from him, but he got an inside edge and got caught. Rohit Sharma was there with Kohli. Rohit Sharma was as lucky as Travis Head. Two catches were dropped and he got a four off an inside edge. However, when Rohit Sharma got out, everyone was looking towards Virat, and he stood there,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
Chopra noted that Kohli scored at a decent pace despite hitting only five boundaries in his knock.
“When he scored a hundred against Pakistan, he hit only seven fours. He didn’t score a hundred against Australia here, came close to a hundred for sure, and he hit only five fours, which means he scored his runs through running after placing the ball into gaps. He had 56 singles. He wasn’t hitting fours but was maintaining the run rate,” he observed.
Kohli also completed 8000 runs while chasing in ODIs on Tuesday. The veteran has an average of almost 91 in India’s successful run-chases in the 50-overs format.
“Isn’t he the best finisher on the planet? Virat Kohli bats at No. 3 and the finishing job is for Nos. 5 to 7. He didn’t go after finishing this time, but he is the chase master. He has scored more than 8000 runs while chasing. He has crossed the 8000-run mark. He is the first person to score more than 1000 runs in ICC knockout history,” he said.
The renowned commentator hailed Kohli for playing another match-winning knock in a big game of the major ICC tournament.
“When the matter is big, our guy is standing. Kohli’s bat roars when there is a mountain of runs to chase, and he showed that by doing it once again. Get an AI done, but if someone can break down a run chase better than that, that’s our Virat Kohli. He is the best finisher in the world ever seen,” Chopra observed.
India will take on either New Zealand or South Africa in the final at Dubai on Sunday.
