Virat Kohli is One of The Best Batsmen I Have Ever Seen in My Life - Kumar Sangakkara

Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has hailed Virat Kohli as one of the best batsmen he has seen in his life.

Sangakkara’s comments came just a couple of days after another batting masterclass from the India skipper. Arguably the best batsman in the world, Kohli scored a monumental century in the third ODI against South Africa.

The 29-year old played an unbeaten knock of 160 to help India thrash the Proteas by 124 runs. It was an absolute masterclass from Kohli on a pitch where the other batsmen struggled to play their natural game. It was his third century on a tour where only Faf du Plessis had managed to score a ton. As a result, India is leading the ODI series 3-0.

“It’s a superhuman effort, isn’t it? He just got this formulae of scoring runs,” Sangakkara told CricketCountry.

“To me, he is one of the best batsmen I have ever seen in my life, especially in the shorter versions. He has got a great hunger to replicate that at Test level and is doing that,” added Sangakkara who is currently playing in the Hong Kong T20 Blitz 2018.

Kohli’s unprecedented consistency with the bat has left everyone gasping for breath. In just 205 ODIs, the India star has scored a staggering 34 centuries.

The 29-year finished 2017 with 2,818 runs across formats, the most by any cricketer and third-most by any batsman in a calendar year. Sangakkara’s tally of 2,868 in 2014 still tops the charts.

His unbelievable exploits with the bat helped him clinch the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy after being adjudged the ICC Cricketer of the Year. He was also named the captain of ICC ODI and Test teams.

In the qualification period from September 21, 2016, to the end of 2017, Kohli scored 2,203 Test runs at an average of 77.80 including six double-centuries, 1,818 ODI runs at 82.63 including seven hundreds, and 299 T20I runs at a strike-rate of 153. Kohli was also named the ODI cricketer of the year.

Another prolific year on cards:

Kohli is looking set for another prolific year with the bat. It has been just over one month into 2018, and Kohli already has amassed 608 runs from six matches (3 Tests and 3 ODIs), including three centuries.

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