Former Indian fast bowler Varun Aaron showered praise on Virat Kohli after the veteran batter scored a fine knock in the third ODI against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday. After bagging two ducks in the first two matches of the series, Kohli scored a brilliant knock of 74 runs off 81 balls.
Kohli scored his 75th fifty in ODIs and batted at the top of his game. The talisman made the most of his experience to get back into form and played a key role in India’s comprehensive nine-wicket win in the third game. Kohli added 168 runs off 169 balls with Rohit Sharma, who scored a magnum opus knock of 121 runs.
Varun Aaron said on Star Sports, “Virat Kohli is like one of those old tractors. It just needs a little fire to start. It doesn’t start on a normal ignition. When Virat has some fire burning in him, you set Virat loose to chase down a target, this is what he gives you. Chanceless batting.”
After finally getting off the mark in the series, Kohli passed a cheeky smile and celebrated with a fist pump.
“The over from (Josh) Hazlewood was where he got going. He got that one run, acted like he had got a hundred because it means a lot to him. Even now when he turns up for India, he wants to win games for India, wants to score hundreds and fifties. Most fifties by an Indian in a winning cause. So the records just keep tumbling when Rohit (Sharma) and Kohli bat,” Aaron elaborated.
On the other hand, former Indian wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel showered praise on Virat Kohli for his willingness to spend time in the middle.
“Virat was coming after scoring two zeroes. The kind of batter he is, you want him to score runs because the fans love him a lot. All of us know the kind of quality he has. If you respect time, time respects you,” he said.
“Virat did that only. He spent some time on the ground. He allowed the ball to come to him. He didn’t look too rushed. We see skillful shots in any case, but once he had spent 10-15 minutes, we saw the autopilot mode in Virat’s batting,” Parthiv observed.
Kohli will be next seen in action in three-match ODI series against South Africa.
