Champions Trophy | ‘Virat Kohli’s engine room is ODI cricket and it could be his second innings’: R Ashwin on batter’s 51st ODI ton
With his 51st ODI hundred against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy match at Dubai on Sunday, Virat Kohli hit his first International hundred since the hundred against Australia in the Perth Test match during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. Kohli, who had only amassed 190 runs in nine Test innings in Australia in the Border-Gavaskar trophy, had got out six times to off side deliveries followed by a half-century in three ODI matches against England last month. Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has shared how he did not see those dismissals in red ball cricket as any ‘doubts’ and ODI cricket being Kohli’s engine room.
“I never had any doubt about Virat’s quality. When we were playing in Australia, people were criticizing that he was nicking the ball in the slips. People should understand that there was grass on the wicket and it was red ball cricket and he was nicking in Test match cricket. And there was so much talk over that. One gets out in the slips, one gets out clean bowled and one also is out as LBW. He was getting out in slips. Okay What is there in that? I don’t read massively into it. Virat’s class has not gone anywhere. I always said Virat Kohli’s engine room is ODI cricket. I am glad he is playing ODI cricket and this well could be his second coming. His confidence will only increase,” said Ashwin on his Youtube channel Ash ki Baat.
Kohli also surpassed the 14,000 run mark during his knock against Pakistan on Sunday. Kohli was 15 runs short of the 14,000-run mark prior to the match against Pakistan and reached the milestone with a boundary against Haris Rauf in the 13th over of India’s innings. Kohli is the third batsman after compatriot Sachin Tendulkar and Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakarra to cross the 14,000 run mark in ODI cricket. Kohli’s feat has come in 350 ODI innings, 28 fewer innings than Sangakkara and 63 fewer innings than Tendulkar.
“We were saying prior to the match that it could be Virat Kohli’s game and I had a good gut feeling. What an absolute stellar knock by Virat Kohli. 51st ODI hundred and 14,000 runs in ODI cricket, 60-70 matches less than the previous best batsman. What more can I say? He is an amazing player,” said Ashwin.
Ashwin also talked about the cover drives hit by Kohli in the match against Pakistan pacers. While the shot has also accounted for Kohli’s dismissal in recent times, Ashwin believes that Kohli’s cover drive does the talking for him. “I would talk about one cover drive in the match. He hit the extra cover drive showing that it’s his biggest strength That cover dive between cover and mid off and the way he caressed the Haris Rouf delivery was fantastic. Another one was where Virat carssed the on the up little outside ball to the left of extra cover for boundary beating the sweeper cover. When Virat Kohli is on song, this cover drive does all the talking. Virat does not do any of the talking,” said Ashwin.
