IND vs PAK: “Biggest Innings Of His Lifetime” – Shoaib Akhtar Praises Virat Kohli After His Terrific 82* vs Pakistan In T20 World Cup At The MCG

Former Pakistan National Cricket Team pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar, nicknamed the “Rawalpindi Express”, lavished praise on the India National Cricket Team No.3 batter, Virat Kohli, for his remarkable performance in the blockbuster India-Pakistan ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 encounter at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, October 23.

In the high-voltage India-Pakistan game, Virat Kohli came out to bat in the second over itself after the failure of KL Rahul. Soon, India lost the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Axar Patel and India were reduced to 31/4.

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Then, Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya had a wonderful 113-run partnership in 78 balls, which shifted the momentum towards India. Hardik got dismissed in the final over, but Kohli remained unbeaten and helped India seal a 4-wicket win.

The modern-day batting great Virat Kohli smashed remarkable 82 runs off 53 balls, including 6 fours and 4 sixes, to bag the Player of the Match award in the nail-biting match.

In a video shared on his official YouTube channel, Akhtar heaped praise on Kohli for his fantastic knock, which he feels is the batter’s one of the best innings.

“Jab iraade tuthte hain to yakeen bahar aata hain aur jab yaaken pokhta ho jaata hain to character bahar aata hain and uska naam Virat Kohli hain,” Shoaib was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.

“It may be the biggest innings of his lifetime. He was able to play because he had the belief that he could do it,” he added.

Even before Diwali, Kohli lit fireworks – Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan National Cricket Team pacer further mentioned that Kohli struggled for runs for the past few years, but he kept working hard and before the festival of Diwali he lit fireworks at the MCG.

“He stayed down and out for three years, he didn’t score runs, he was stripped of the captaincy, he had to face a lot of flak, people even targeted his family,” he stated.

“But he kept training, he kept working hard. Even before Diwali, Kohli lit fireworks as he decided that the stage was perfect for him to make a comeback, for his name. The king is back and he is back with a bang and I am really happy for him,” Shoaib added.

Also Read: IND vs PAK: “Not Virat Kohli’s Fault” – Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Malik Furious Over On-field Umpires’ No-ball Call In Final Over