Indian talisman Virat Kohli showered praise on KL Rahul after the latter made a promising return to ODI format in the Super Fours stage match against Pakistan of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Monday.
Rahul scored a fine knock of 111 runs off just 106 balls with the help of a dozen fours and two sixes and played like he was never out of action. The flamboyant batter timed the ball to perfection, which has always been his strength. The right-hander added an unbeaten alliance of 233 runs with Virat Kohli and thus India posted a gigantic score of 356 on the board.
Furthermore, Virat Kohli was at his majestic best, scoring 122 runs off just 94 balls with the help of nine fours and three sixes. Kohli scored his 47th ODI century, overall his 77th International hundred and also became the fastest batter to reach 13000 runs, reaching the coveted milestone in 267 innings and thus better Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 321 innings.
Kohli was able to change gears towards the end and once again made the most of his experience to get the job done. The talisman proved why is regarded as one of the best batters in ODI cricket history.
The 34-year-old from Delhi was also awarded Player of the Match for his fine knock.
Kohli said in the post-match presentation, “Me and KL are both conventional cricketers, we don’t try fancy stuff but we can get a lot of purchase through good cricket shots. Great partnership and good signs for Indian cricket. Very happy for him to come back to ODI cricket in that manner.”
Kohli said he takes a lot of pride in his running and he is always looking to convert one into twos. The linchpin added he was playing a second fiddle to Rahul’s knock.
Kohli went on to add, “I’m always prepared to help the team in different ways. Today, KL got a great start and my job was just to rotate strike. I take a lot of pride on trying to push for easy runs, pushing for a double is as easy as they come.”
India will play their second Super Fours stage match against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
