As I said in my previous articles, that class is permanent and form is temporary. The class of Virat Kohli was apparent yesterday against Afghanistan.
Virat showed why he is a world-class player and why the other teams are giving so much importance and respect to this player.
After a long wait of three years, Virat has finally scored a century in the format which was due. After scoring unbeaten 122 runs against Afghanistan, he has now become the highest run scorer in a match for India in T20 international, surpassing the Indian captain Rohit Sharma.
He did not celebrate his century in his usual aggressive way but it was a quiet and smiling celebration. He did not jump in the air and pump the fist as he usually does after scoring a hundred. Looking at the celebration and his face and gestures, Kohli himself seemed surprised with this performance and the century he scored. He just smiled and kissed his locket that thanked his almighty.
Afghanistan bowlers were at the mercy of Kohli and they were at the receiving end as Kohli scored boundaries and sixers at will all around the park. Even Rashid Khan was not spared by Kohli.
It seems that six weeks break he took has really helped him to take rest and prepare mentally and physically for the Asia Cup and upcoming T20 World cup.
During his speech after the match, he said that he was happy that he has scored good runs in this Asia cup for his country and that the break has helped him a lot. He gave the credit to his wife Anuska for her support during the bad time he faced over the last 3 years.
In the absence of Rohit Sharma, Kholi was promoted to open the innings for India along with regular opener KL Rahul. Both the openers scored at a brisk pace and scored 100 partnerships for the first time in the tournament. Both scored their half-centuries and were very aggressive in their approach. Afghanistan bowlers did not have an answer to the onslaught of these two Indian openers.
KL Rahul got out in his 60s but Kohli went on scoring runs as usual. Few of the shots Kohli played over the mid-wicket and the cover drives were a treat to watch. The player and his class were apparent in yesterday’s eventually last match for India in Asia cup. Luck was also on his side he managed to find the gap at will.
The team management must be very pleased and happy that their main batter, Virat Kohli is back in business. We hope that he continues to play the same way as he did yesterday.
Talking point
There was a talking point in the commentary box that now should Kohli be opening the innings with Rohit Sharma on a regular basis?
In my opinion, Kohli is the best fit for his usual position and India should not temper with their regular opening pair. The batting order of 1 to 4 is perfect at the moment and it should not be manipulated.
However, Kohli can be considered as an opener if one of the two regular openers is not available for the match. Otherwise, Virat at #3 is fine.
Overall Team Performance
Bhubaneshwar Kumar was also on fire as he bagged 4 wickets in his quota of 4 over and was a miser in giving runs. He gave only 5 runs in his 4 overs and record his best figures in T20 international for India 4-5-4.
India got a massive 101-run victory over Afghanistan which once looked a very dangerous side during the tournament as they were narrowly defeated by Sri Lanka and Pakistan but yesterday, India outplayed them in all departments.
Few Positive points from Asia Cup for India
- India’s main man Virat Kohli is back in business.
- Bhubaneswar Kumar was able to swing the ball both ways at will.
- Ending the Asia Cup with a big win will help Indian players mentally.
- India can ask Kohli to open the innings if required, looking after his yesterday’s performance.
- Arshdeep singh, a good prospect for the future as he was managed to contain the batsman in the last overs in very crucial and pressure matches.
Also Read: Virat Kohli, Talking point of Asia Cup