Virat Kohli pocketed his 77th century in international cricket. Virat Kohli notched up a thunderous century against Pakistan on the reverse day of the super four stages of the Asia Cup 2023. For his sublime contribution, he was awarded Player of the Match.
In a high-pressure situation, India started positively with the bat while batting first at Colombo. Shubman Gill was flourishing at the start, and Rohit Sharma was a bit careful; both the openers ended up with stunning half centuries. They won the initial tough stages and took charge on Pakistan’s strong bowling attack to set a base for the big target. Pakistan got a little window for a comeback with both openers back in a short space of time. We were on top of the show before the rain interrupted the day’s play.
On the reverse day, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul started the inning very carefully, but after adapting to the conditions, both batters took charge on the bowlers and bagged brilliant centuries, remaining not out at the end of the inning. They helped India post a gigantic total of 356; Virat Kohli, 122 (94) was the aggressor throughout his inning; he ended the inning with an eye-catching six. KL Rahul answered all the questions with his 111 (106) ton.
Rain really helped the Indian pacers in the second inning of the match, Pakistan was climbing the mountain of 357 runs. Jasprit Bumrah removed Imam-ul-Haq early, and Hardik Pandya crushed the stumps to get the big fish, Babar Azam. Conditions were really tough for the batters, and PAK batters could not show great technique against testing fast bowling from Indian pacers and were bowled out for just 128 runs, and India won by 228 runs.
The idea was to keep batting- Virat Kohli
During the post match match presentation, Virat Kohli was thrilled to win the player of the match award against Pakistan. Virat Kohli revealed the gameplan which him & KL Rahul applied against the dangerous Pakistani bowling attack.
“I always prepared my game in a way that I could help the team. Today was the classic example of when you do not get off to a good start. I take a lot of pride in my fitness. Pushing for doubles is easy compared to big shorts. It has paid off before, and I hope to continue in the same way,” said Virat Kohli.
“Both KL and I are conventional players. Kl started well, and I was trying to give him a strike. And when you have him batting the way he was and me playing, it’s tough to break these partnerships because we don’t wear fancy shorts. The idea was to keep batting,” he added.