Houston [USA], February 25 (ANI): Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria hailed star India batter Virat Kohli for his century against Pakistan in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy, calling him a legendary player not because of how not only he scores runs, but also makes his batting partners score runs, which instils a sense of fear in the opponents.
The game was headlined by Virat Kohli’s carefully crafted unbeaten century, which not only secured India’s win but also saw him achieve remarkable individual milestones of completing 14,000 ODI runs and going past Ponting to become the third-highest run-getter in international cricket. This was also Virat’s first ton in the ICC Champions Trophy.
Speaking to ANI in an interview after the match, Danish said, “Virat Kohli is a world class cricketer, a legend. When India is in a pressure situation, he delivers. In Pakistan, players play for themselves, In India, they play for their nation. He knew he had to stay in the crease and finish the game. He batted well with Shreyas Iyer and carried the game forward with his other partners too. Teams often worry about a particular player, who even if he does not score, he will make the other player with him score runs. This makes him such a legendary player.”
On Virat’s future in international cricket, Kaneria said that he is super fit and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would like to have him play as long as he can and groom future batters.
“He (Virat) is super fit. He trains well. He practices well. He is passionate about his game and is a role model for youngsters. His form never left. He was always scoring runs in and out. He is a fearless cricketer. Some people use him to sell their content and increase their following. It is not easy to be an international player as you stay away from family for so long, face the media, people’s expectations etc. He will come back with a bang again,” he added.
Coming to the India-Pakistan Champions Trophy clash, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Pakistan was off to a fine start, with Babar Azam (23 in 26 balls, with five fours) unleashing some fine drives in the 41-run opening partnership. After two quick wickets, Pakistan was 47/2.
Skipper Mohammed Rizwan (46 in 77 balls, with three fours) and Saud Shakeel (62 in 76 balls, with five fours) had a 104-run partnership, but they ate up a lot of deliveries. After the end of this partnership, Khushdil Shah (38 in 39 balls, with two sixes) did put up a fight with Salman Agha (19) and Naseem Shah (14), but they were bundled out for 241 runs in 49.4 overs.
Chasing 242 runs, India lost skipper Rohit Sharma (20 in 15 balls, with three fours and a six) early. Then 69-run stand between Shubman Gill (46 in 52 balls, with seven fours) and Virat Kohli (100* in 111 balls, with seven fours) and a 114-run stand between Virat and Iyer (56 in 67 balls, with five fours and a six) helped India secure an easy four-wicket win with six wickets and 45 balls to spare. (ANI)
