Former India opener Wasim Jaffer spoke about Virat Kohli’s knock against Pakistan in the Men in Blues’ first match of the Asia Cup 2022. The former cricketer went on to share how the 33-year-old batter is on his way to get back to his best after returning to international cricket after a long break.
Kohli, who played his 100th T20I clash against India’s arch-rivals made a solid statement with the batting during his stay at the crease at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. The veteran star ended up making 35 runs off 34 deliveries against the Men in Green helping India’s case to register a narrow win in the 6-nation tournament.
The Men in Blue’s batting did not start off the way they would have wanted to as India lost vice-captain KL Rahul in the very first over. The opener was sent back to the hut for a golden duck which saw Virat Kohli walk out to bat on the 3rd ball of the second innings.
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The 33-year-old faced an initial hiccup in the first over itself as Naseem Shah managed to induce an outside edge, but Fakhar Zaman failed to keep hold off the ball at third slip. After the fluster, Kohli looked in fine touch and seemed that he would play the long innings and walk away with the game. His batting approach during the Powerplay overs made things difficult for the Pakistani bowlers who had a rather small target to defend against a strong Indian batting line up.
Speaking on CricTracker, Jaffer claimed the former skipper’s innings to be ‘impactful’. He shared how it was good to see Virat Kohli’s innings score those runs after coming back from a break. The former cricketer said, “Those 35 runs were impactful, no doubt about that since you are chasing a target of 147 runs and not 170 or 180. When you are chasing 145, most of the teams should win unless there is a collapse. So based on that I reckon that definitely, those 35 runs that he scored around 30 balls is good to see.”
“He is coming back after a break, and you know he has now got some knock under his belt. Like I said, Virat Kohli is such a big player that you expect him to score 60-70 runs in chases like these. We have seen that his record against Pakistan is really outstanding, so you expect a Virat innings from someone like Virat Kohli”, Wasim Jaffer added.
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Smit is a sports writer at Gutshot Magazine. After completing his Bachelor’s in Mass Media, and a Master’s degree in Sports Management, this sports fanatic uses articles as a tool to express his opinions. Bring up cricket or football and you will find this usually quiet guy speak for hours! He also co-heads the official supporters club of Chelsea FC in Mumbai, wherein he hosts screenings, football meets and other such events.
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