T20 World Cup 2021: Sunil Gavaskar Mightily Impressed With Virat Kohli's Innings Against Pakistan, Hails His Responsible Nature

Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was highly impressed by Virat Kohli’s half-century against Pakistan and he lauded the Indian skipper for showing a sense of maturity. India had just very few positives to take out from the game against Pakistan and one of them was definitely Virat Kohli’s half-century which came when India needed the most.

With both openers dismissed cheaply and Suryakumar Yadav following them, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant studied the ship with some risk-taking shots at times and were happy to rotate the strike as well. He went about his business in the usual “Virat Kohli” way and looked a lot more purposeful which has been lacking in recent times. He was dismissed for 57 in the end, trying to up the ante in the last overs.

Sunil Gavaskar Heaps Praise On Virat Kohli’s Innings

Sunil Gavaskar lauded the Indian skipper for stepping up when India was in the fray of getting bundled out quickly and explained how Kohli progressed through the innings phase by phase. He added that it was amazing from the side of Virat on his shot-making abilities.

“It was a terrific innings because India had lost their openers in the powerplay itself, so there was a greater sense of responsibility on Kohli’s shoulders because he now had to pace the innings, repair the innings and also get India to a total which they could hope to defend,”

“So, the way he (Kohli) paced his innings, the way he chose the shots to break free at times and the six that he hit off Shaheen Afridi. Absolutely amazing talent,” Sunil Gavaskar opined on Star Sports show

Sunil Gavaskar Explains The Importance Of Virat Kohli’s Innings

Sunil Gavaskar mentioned the way Shaheen Afridi was bowling very tight without giving any room and noted that Shaheen was moving from the pitch rather than swinging it in the air. He added that Virat Kohli did really well to negotiate the swing and to still clear the boundary lines against Shaheen Afridi.

“The way Shaheen Afridi was bowling, he was mixing it up quite well, he was angling the ball across the right hand and he was getting the ball to turn back in after pitching, not so much in the air because you don’t get that much help in the UAE,”

“That’s why it was important for Kohli to try and step out so that he would be able to then negate the amount of swing that Shaheen Afridi was getting and that’s how he was able to negotiate that and score runs off Shaheen Afridi.” he added

Virat Kohli will be looking to make another big score against New Zealand and take his side to victory.

Also Read – ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Hopefully, India Will Pick Themselves Up Quickly, Says Sunil Gavaskar