The dwindling form of Virat Kohli remains a national concern but the batting superstar, rejuvenated after a short break, seems to getting back to his old self. At the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 in UAE, Kohli has scored two fifties in three innings, playing a major role in two Indian victories at the continental tournament.
In the first match, against Pakistan, he made a solid 35 off 34 to keep the innings from unravelling and made a significant contribution to what turned out to be a successful chase. Then against Hong Kong, he struck his first international fifty since February this year and anchored the innings that allowed Suryakumar Yadav to go hammer and tongs from the other end.
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On Sunday, he struck four fours and a six during a 44-ball 60 against Pakistan that helped India to a challenging 181/7. Even though it came in a losing cause, Kohli’s fifty drew widespread praise.
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir was impressed with the way Kohli paced his innings.
“Very good, in fact, Virat Kohli looked very very good, I loved the approach of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul followed by Suryakumar Yadav, Hooda; all those guys played well but Virat Kohli was good, so you got to give it to him, coming back after the way he batted in the first and second game just showed that probably he got that confidence back especially today; looked really good and I hope he continues this form,” Gambhir said on Star Sports.
Former India allrounder Irfan Pathan expects the performance of the Rohit Sharma-led side to improve further once they are back to full strength.
“Rohit Sharma manages the team very well and I hope that when the whole team is back, having (Jasprit) Bumrah, and Harshal Patel we’ll get to see a better performance from team India which we want to see especially if you see it from the lens of the World Cup,” he said.
India will next face Sri Lanka in their second Super Four stage match on Tuesday.
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