Tag: Virat Kohli

DUBAI: India’s young batter Suryakumar Yadav scored a blistering half-century before the bowlers displayed combined effort to hand their side a resounding 40 runs victory over Hong Kong and confirmed their place in the Super 4s of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

Set to chase a massive 193, Hong Kong fell 40 runs short of glory as the side finished at 152/2 in the allotted 20 overs.

Hong Kong had a poor start to their run chase as they lost their opener Yasim Murtaza for a combined score of a mere 12 in the second over.

Skipper Nizakat Khan and their top batter Babar Hayat then anchored the run chase with an important 39-run partnership for the second wicket before the captain, who was struggling to get going fell victim to a run-out in the sixth over.

Babar’s stay at the crease also remained brief following the dismissal as he walked back to the pavilion after adding 23 runs for the third wicket with Kinchit Shah. The right-handed batter top-scored for the side with a valiant 41 off 35 deliveries, laced with three boundaries and two sixes.

The side then lost two more wickets in quick successions, which halted their chances to seal an upset victory. Shah remained the second top-scorer for his side with 30.

Wicket-keeper batter Zeeshan Ali remained unbeaten with his quick 26 but his efforts too, could not inspire Hong Kong to victory.

For India, Avesh Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck out a batter each.

After being put into bat first by Hong Kong, India enjoyed a late onslaught from Yadav and an anchoring knock from Kohli, which powered them to a massive 192/2 in 20 overs.

The men in blue were off to an unwanted start as the side lost their captain Rohit Sharma cheaply for 21 in the fifth over.

Following the early horror, newly-arrived Kohli joined hands with KL Rahul and added 56 runs for the second wicket.

Kohli was looking solid amid the stand, while Rahul was struggling to score at a quick pace and in the end, fell victim to Mohammad Ghazanfar in the 13th. He scored a snail-paced 36 off 39 deliveries.

Kohli and Suryakumar then gave a much-needed boost to their side as they added 98 runs in the last seven overs. Kohli played an anchoring knock of an unbeaten 59 off 44 deliveries, laced with a boundary and three sixes.

Suryakumar, on the other hand, top-scored with a quickfire 68 off a mere 26 deliveries; smashing six boundaries and as many sixes.

For Hong Kong, Ghazanfar and Ayush Shukla managed to make one scalp each.

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DUBAI: Former Indian captain Virat Kohli heaped praises on the top-ranked white ball batter Babar Azam and coined him the best batter in the world currently across all three formats of the game.

Virat, while featuring in the Star Sports’ Heart to Heart episode, lauded the Pakistani skipper Babar and recalled his first conversation with the top-ranked batter in limited overs cricket.

“The first talk with Babar Azam was after the 2019 World Cup, we sat down and talked a lot, he had a lot of respect that hasn’t changed even after doing so well in world cricket,” Virat stated.

The former Indian captain then termed Babar a ‘down-to-earth character’ and predicted the latter to succeed as a player before claiming to enjoy his batting.

“He is so down to earth character, he will go long way as a player. He is probably the top batsman right now across all formats. I have enjoyed watching him bat,” Virat concluded.

Earlier the two batters met on the sidelines of the teams’ training sessions for the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 and had a overwhelming moment.

Furthermore, the two cricketers displayed mutual respect in July this year when Babar came out in support of Virat with a motivating tweet, “This too shall pass. Stay strong” and received an overwhelming response from the cricket fans.

A number of speculations also began to arise about whether the Indian batter will respond to the Babar’s message. Virat, however, proved the speculations wrong and responded to Babar’s supportive tweet for him in a challenging phase of his career, while also wishing latter the luck.

“Thank you. Keep shining and rising. Wish you all the best,” Virat replied to Babar on his tweet.

It is pertinent to mention here that the 15th edition of the Asia Cup will embark on August 27 with the hosts Sri Lanka taking on Afghanistan in the curtain raiser. The most anticipated clash of the tournament between India and Pakistan, however, is scheduled for August 28.

READ: ‘First time in 10 years I didn’t touch my bat for a month’ claims Virat

DUBAI: Former Indian captain and top-ranked batter Virat Kohli opened up on his mental issues and revealed that he did not touch his bat for a month for the first time in 10 years.

Virat, who is going through a rough patch in his career, made a shocking revelation regarding his mental conditions and asserted that he did not touch his bat for a month after being rested for the West Indies and Zimbabwe tour.

The right-handed batter, who previously ruled the rankings across all formats, has only one fifty-plus score in his last 22 innings including Indian Premier League (IPL) and international cricket and has spent more than a thousand days without scoring an international century.

Famous for his aggression on the field, the former Indian captain also revealed and acknowledged that he was faking his intensity in the game.

“For the first time in 10 years, I didn’t touch my bat for a month. I came to [the] realisation that I was trying to fake my intensity a bit recently. I was convincing myself that no, you had the intensity. But your body was telling you to stop. The mind was telling me to take a break and step back,” Virat shared in a video posted by Star Sports.

“I’m looked at as a guy who is mentally very strong and I am. But everyone has a limit and you need to recognize that limit, otherwise, things can get unhealthy for you.

“This period taught me a lot of things that I wasn’t allowing to come to surface. When they eventually came up, I embraced it.”

It's @imVkohli like you've never seen him before as he opens up to his fans in a special episode of Virat: Heart To Heart.

Catch it today at 5 PM on Star Sports & Disney+Hotstar.#KingKohli #TeamIndia | #AsiaCup2022 | #AsiaCup pic.twitter.com/3GaIJ24SKe

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) August 27, 2022

The star Indian batter also revealed that he felt ‘mentally down’ and further opined about the taboo surrounding mental health.

“I’m not shy to admit that I was feeling mentally down. This is a very normal thing to feel, but we don’t speak because we are hesitant. We don’t want to be looked at as mentally weak. Trust me, faking to be strong is far worse than admitting to be weak,” Virat concluded.

WATCH: Virat Kohli takes selfie with his Pakistani fan stopped by guards 

DUBAI: Former Indian captain Virat Kohli has won the hearts of millions as he took a selfie with a Pakistani fan who was stopped by security guards at the ICC Cricket Academy ahead of Asia Cup 2022.

Ahead of the Asia Cup 2022 that gets underway on Saturday and India vs Pakistan clash on Sunday, fans have flocked to the ICC Academy ground, where the teams are practising.

After completing the practice session on Friday, Virat was making his way back to the team bus when a fan from Lahore came rushing toward him in an attempt to get a picture clicked from the right-handed batter, but was stopped by the security guards.

Initially, the right-handed batter kept walking, oblivious to the presence of this Pakistani fan restricted by security. However, when the fan screamed at Kohli and told him that he has come all the way from Pakistan only to get a picture clicked with him, Virat returned and let his fan took the selfie.

Speaking to a YouTube Channel later, the Pakistani fan – Muhammad Jibran – explained his admiration for the Indian legend.

“I’m not a fan of any player in this world but Virat Kohli, for whom I came all the way from Pakistan in hopes of getting a selfie with and waited a whole month for it,” he said.

Jibran further said: “He [Kohli] was going back to the hotel, but being the extraordinary human he is besides an exceptional cricketer, he agreed to my request for the selfie.”

The fan, who had just checked off his biggest wishlist moment, said he also hoped for Kohli to return to form – even if it meant him finding his feet against Pakistan on August 28.

WATCH: Babar meets Rohit ahead of Pak-India clash in Asia Cup 

DUBAI: Pakistan Cricket Board ended the suspense of millions of cricket fans who were eager to listen to the exact conversation between Pakistan’s injured bowling star Shaheen Afridi and former Indian skipper Virat Kohli as they met during the practice session for the Asia Cup 2022. 

Virat Kohli and other members of the Indian team were seen greeting Shaheen and inquired about his injury in a video posted by PCB on its official Twitter account, however, the conversation between the two stars was inaudible which left many cricket fans on tenterhooks.

PCB shared another video with clear audio of the conversation between the two in which Kohli could be heard asking Shaheen about his injury while the pacer wishes him luck for a strong comeback.

The suspense is over! Let's listen to the conversation between @iShaheenAfridi and @imVkohli 🔊#AsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/ttVYLrNtuO

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 26, 2022

Apart from Kohli, Yuzendra Chahal, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul also met the star Pakistani pacer and inquired about his knee injury.

Shaheen has been ruled out of the Asia Cup due to a knee injury as the PCB medical team advised him to rest for a further four to six weeks in order to completely recover from his injury.

Meanwhile, fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain has been included in the squad as a replacement for the left-arm pacer.

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan will take on the arch-rivals India in their Asia Cup opener on Sunday.

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DUBAI: Australia legend Ricky Ponting has thrown his support behind former top-ranked batter Virat Kohli, who has been struggling recently, saying that he would be afraid of an Indian team that included Virat.

Ponting, in the latest episode of ICC Review, backed the former Indian captain Kohli by stating that the latter still has a meaningful impact and also that as an opposing captain, he would fear a side that comprised Virat.

“I think if I was an opposition captain or an opposition player, I will be fearing playing an Indian team that has Virat Kohli in it, more than I would be one that doesn’t have him in it,” Ponting asserted.

“I know there have been some challenges for him, it’s been a difficult time,” he added.

EXCLUSIVE: Ricky Ponting’s strong comments on what should happen next with Virat Kohli.

— ICC (@ICC) July 20, 2022

The former Australian captain then expanded his support for the struggling right-handed batter by claiming that every great has been through it at some stage of his career.

“But every great player that I have seen in this game has been through it at some stage, whether that’s a batsman or a bowler, they have all been through it,” Ponting claimed.

“And somehow, the best [players] find a way to rebound and respond, and it’s only a matter of time before Virat does that,” he maintained.

The World Cup-winning Australian captain also predicted that if India opt to omit Virat for the upcoming T20 World Cup then there might be no way back for him, while also claiming if he would be the authority then he would keep pushing him, knowing the upsides of backing.

“If you leave Virat out of the eve of the World Cup, and someone comes in and has a reasonable tournament, it will be hard for Virat to get back in it,” Ponting said.

“If I was India, I will keep pushing with him, because I know the upside. If they actually get him back confident and [play] as well as he can, that upside is better than most. So I think if I was a captain or a coach around the Indian [set-up], I will be making life as easy as possible for him to feel as comfortable as possible, and just wait for him to flick the switch and start scoring runs again,” he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that Kohli had reached the milestone of 70 international centuries in 2019 and has batted more than 100 innings since then without scoring a century. He scored his last century against Bangladesh.

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KARACHI: India’s out-of-form batter Virat Kohli has finally responded to Babar Azam’s supportive tweet for himself as he is going through a rough patch in international cricket.

Babar, who made headlines by sharing a supportive message for Indian batter Virat Kohli, while sharing a picture of the two top batters from the last year’s ICC T20 World Cup, has finally received a response from his Indian counterpart.

“This too shall pass. Stay Strong,” Babar wrote while sharing a picture of him alongside Kohli.

This too shall pass. Stay strong. #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/ozr7BFFgXt

— Babar Azam (@babarazam258) July 14, 2022

Babar was praised for his sportsman spirit off the field by a number of former cricketers and fans from the two nations. However, a number of speculations also began to arise about whether the Indian batter will respond to the former’s message.

Virat, however, has proved the speculations wrong and has responded to Babar’s message for him in a challenging phase of his career, while also wishing latter the luck.

“Thank you. Keep shining and rising. Wish you all the best,” Kohli replied to Babar on his Tweet.

Thank you. Keep shining and rising. Wish you all the best 👏

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) July 16, 2022

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LONDON: Indian captain Rohit Sharma has reiterated his faith in the out-of-form Virat Kohli and stated that he does not require any reassurances after the star batter failed to break out of his slump.

Kohli has been enduring a rough patch with the bat and remains unable to bring up his 71st ton since his last century against Bangladesh in 2019. His recent dismal performances during India’s tour of England have sparked many concerns about his place in the Indian team.

The right-handed batter once again failed to impress in the second ODI at Lord’s as he was dismissed for a mere 16 runs while India lost the match by 100 runs.

At the post-match media briefing, Rohit was asked by a reporter if Kohli needed reassurances from the captain or the management during his ongoing rough patch with the bat. The Indian captain replied in negation.

“He [Kohli] has played so many matches. He is playing for so many years. He is such a great batsman, so he does not need reassurance.” he said.

Rohit expressed his hope that a solid performance by Kohli in an inning or two would help in regaining his form while praising the star batter’s glorious run in the past.

“Form goes up and down, that is part and parcel of any cricketer’s career. So, a player like him, who has played for so many years, who has made so many runs, who has won so many matches, for him, he only needs one or two good innings (to bounce back). That is my thinking and I am sure all those who follow cricket will think similarly,” he maintained.

“We have seen performances of every player go up and down, but the quality of the player never gets worse. That we all should keep in mind. That is very important. He has made so many runs, check his average, how many hundreds he has made, he has (vast) experience of doing that. There is a slump in every player’s life. Even in the personal life, it comes,” he concluded.

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KARACHI: Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam has come out in support of former Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who is going through a rough patch in international cricket.

Kohli, who last scored his international century in 2019 against Bangladesh, has remained unable to bring up his 71st ton since then.

The right-handed batter was again dismissed cheaply in the ongoing second ODI as David Wiley removed him for a mere 16, courtesy of an out-side off stump delivery.

Following his dismissal, the Pakistan captain has taken to all social media platforms to show solidarity with the Indian batter.

“This too shall pass. Stay strong,” Babar wrote while sharing a picture of him alongside Kohli.

This too shall pass. Stay strong. #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/ozr7BFFgXt

— Babar Azam (@babarazam258) July 14, 2022

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KARACHI: Left-handed Australian opener Usman Khawaja took a hilarious dig at former India captain Kapil Dev’s remarks about the out-of-form batter Virat Kohli.

Kapil, stirred a debate with his infamous remarks about out-of-form Kohli when he said that dropping the former top-ranked batter from the T20I setup will not be a bad idea.

“Play in-form players when you have loads of options. You can’t just go by reputation, but you have to look for [the] current form. You can be an established player but that doesn’t mean that you will be given chances even if you fail five games in a row. Yes, there will be a headache, but he will have to perform better. If world No. 2 Test bowler Ashwin can be dropped from Test side then your No. 1 batter can also be dropped,” Kapil had told ABP News.

“I hope Kohli scores runs. And if there’s a [selection] challenge after that, it’s a big one. At the moment, Virat Kohli isn’t playing like the Kohli we know, the one that has made him a legend through his performances. If he isn’t performing, you can’t continue to keep these boys [youngsters] out. I hope there’s a healthy fight for selection, the youngsters should look to outperform Kohli. But Kohli needs to think, ‘yes at one point I was a big player, but I need to play like that No. 1 player again’. That’s a problem for the team, it’s not a bad problem,” he added.

Kapil’s statement gathered a lot of attention and even the International Cricket Council (ICC) posted a graphic of his quotes, to which Khawaja posted a cheeky reply.

“Averages 50 at almost 140. Good call. Australia Agrees,” Khawaja commented on ICC’s Instagram post with laughing emoticons.

 

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It is pertinent to mention here that Kohli is going through a rough patch in international cricket as the right-handed batter has not scored a century since 2019.

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