After Virat Kohli made a fantastic century against Afghanistan in a Twenty20 International match, KL Rahul was asked if he thought Virat Kohli should open the batting for India in Twenty20 International matches.
The wait for star batsman Virat Kohli’s 71st international century is over as he scores his first Twenty20 International century. Kohli went on to play an unbeaten knock of 122 runs off just 61 balls as India faced Afghanistan in their final Super 4 match of the ongoing Asia Cup on Thursday at Dubai International Stadium. The match was part of India’s final round of the tournament.
Rohit Sharma was given the day off for this match, which was considered to be a dead rubber, therefore Kohli was brought out to begin the batting alongside KL Rahul, who was captaining the side in Rohit’s absence. The opening stand between Rahul and Kohli was worth 119 runs, as Rahul scored 62 runs off of 41 balls during that opening stand.
In the end, India prevailed over Afghanistan by a score of 101 runs, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar was responsible for taking five wickets with the ball.
KL Rahul was questioned by a journalist at a press conference after the game about whether Virat Kohli should be considered for the opening batter position in light of his performance against Afghanistan and the fact that he has filled that role for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.
In the Indian Premier League, Kohli has scored five hundreds, all of which occurred while he was opening the batting for RCB.
Rahul’s response to this query was, “Toh kya mai khud beth jaun?” (which translates to “So what? Should I sit out?)
Rahul continued by stating that it was essential for the team for Kohli to rediscover his form, but he also said that he is capable of scoring runs while batting at number three.
“Virat scoring runs is obviously a major plus for the team, and the way he performed today against Afghanistan, I know that he is really very delighted with how he batted today. He played extremely well today against Afghanistan.
He has been working on his game, and it paid off for him tonight. It is vital for the team as a whole for every player to get time out in the middle “Rahul added.
It is not like Virat Kohli would only score centuries if he starts the batting; if he bats at No. 3, he can then also record centuries. It is all about roles and what function a given player has, he added. “You acquire confidence if you play 2-3 innings,” he said. “Really delighted that he could play that way.”
“The role that Virat had today, he did it well,” he said, adding that in the next series that they play, his role will be different.
During the match against Afghanistan, Kohli’s innings featured a total of 12 fours and 6 sixes hit by him. This century got him one step closer to achieving his first international tonne since November of this year. After successfully bringing up the landmark, you could see the relief written all over the face of the former Indian skipper.
“There has been no shift in his frame of mind, attitude, or work ethic in the past two to three years, and there has been no change in the manner that he prepares for games. It is clear that Virat was more relieved than anything else when he celebrated.
He has always had that desire, but I think that we as a team are also very obsessed with numbers, obsessed with those three digits, and we believe that the only person who is in form is someone who is scoring hundreds. His contributions have been phenomenal over the past two to three years “said Rahul.
He continued by saying that, “As a player, you always want to be perfect or you want to challenge yourself towards excellency, and he has always been that player. Even during this phase, he has remained in the moment, and he has worked on his game. That has been a learning experience for our entire group.”
“In that dressing room, none of us are surprised to see what he has done today. I am sure this will give him even more confidence; he will obviously cherish this hundred, and this will build a great confidence around the group as well,” he added. “I am sure this will give him even more confidence; he will obviously cherish this hundred; and this will build a great confidence around the group.”
