India captain Rohit Sharma heaped praise on his predecessor Virat Kohli, saying the former captain’s form is “brilliant” after he hit a fifty against Pakistan in the Super Four match of the Asia Cup on Sunday, September 4.
Virat Kohli hit 60 off 44 balls to help India post 181 runs for the loss of seven wickets after India openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul raced to a firing start. The India openers stitched a 54-run partnership inside the powerplay overs.
From thereon, Kohli anchored the innings but failed to find enough support at the other end. Hardik Pandya, the hero from the teams’ previous match, failed in the Super Four match as he was dismissed without scoring. However, Mohammad Rizwan’s match-turning knock of 71 off 51 helped Pakistan beat India by five wickets.
Talking about Kohli, Rohit, in the post-match presentation, said: “(Kohli’s) form is brilliant. Needed someone to bat long when the others were getting out. He batted with that tempo as well. Virat getting that score was crucial from the team’s point of view.”
During the Super Four match, Kohli hit one more half-century than the combined fifty-plus scores by India batters against Pakistan. Kohli now has four half-centuries in nine T20Is against Pakistan and, overall, has 32 fifties in his 102nd game in the shortest format.
Other India batters – Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa and Yuvraj Singh – have hit only one fifty each against Pakistan. Additionally, Kohli has hit two of his four fifties in India’s winning cause against Pakistan.
Kohli returned to action in the Asia Cup after taking a break from cricket due to his mental health issues. The former India captain, who had endured a wretched run with the bat and not scored a century since November 2019, showed glimpses of his return to form in the continental tournament.
In his 100th T20I match, which coincided with India’s opening match against Pakistan, Kohli scored 35 runs at a crucial time when India suffered an early collapse. Kohli then built on his performance, scoring an unbeaten 59 against Hong Kong in the second match.
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