Former India National Cricket Team captain Virat Kohli lauded the wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul for playing an incredible knock in his comeback game for the side against Pakistan National Cricket Team at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo in Asia Cup 2023.
After being invited to bat first, India were able to post a massive total of 356/2 on the board after Virat Kohli (122), KL Rahul (111), Shubman Gill (58) and Rohit Sharma (56) played sensational innings.
Defending the target, the pacers bagged the first three wickets before Kuldeep Yadav destroyed the Pakistan batting unit and reduced them to 128/8. Pakistan were handed a record-breaking 228-run defeat as Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah weren’t able to bat due to their respective injuries. This was the biggest win margin for India against Pakistan in ODIs.
Virat Kohli was awarded Player of the Match for his stunning century and while speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, he said that he was very tired after the match. He said:
“I was going to ask you to keep the interview short, I’m very tired. 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.”
I don’t play shots like that – Virat Kohli on his reverse ramp boundary
Sanjay Manjrekar asked Virat Kohli about his reverse ramp shot for a boundary during his innings and the batting maestro said that he doesn’t play those kinds of shots because he looks very bad playing those. He also lauded KL Rahul and said that he is delighted that the wicketkeeper-batter making a sensational comeback. Virat Kohli said:
“(On the reverse ramp boundary) Because I crossed the 100, there was a bit of respect for that shot. I don’t play shots like that and I looked very bad playing it. 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.”
India’s next Asia Cup 2023 match is on Tuesday against Sri Lanka, which means they will be playing on three back-to-back days. Talking about this, Virat Kohli said that being a Test player it’s easy for him to adapt to such situations. He also lauded ground staff for their hard work. Virat Kohli said:
“(On playing again tomorrow) I was pushing for those runs and happy for it, but I was thinking I need to play at 3 pm tomorrow. Luckily, we are Test players, I’ve played over a 100 Tests so I know how to come back and play the next day. It was really humid out there, I’m 35 in November so I need to be taking care of that recovery as well (chuckles). A big shout out to the groundsmen from my side, I think they did a fabulous job.”
The post IND vs PAK: “Very Happy For KL Rahul To Come Back To ODIs In That Manner” – Virat Kohli Hails The Batter After Pakistan Clash appeared first on CricketAddictor.
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