Indian Stalwart, Virat Kohli scored his 71st century after more than 1000 days.
Virat Kohli, India’s very own run machine, ended his century drought on Thursday against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, 2022. He hit his 71st ton after a gap of more than 1000 days. He last scored a century in 2019. Kohli scored an unbeaten 122 off 61 deliveries, which is the highest ever T20 score by an Indian batter. With Rohit missing out, Virat was given the charge of opening the innings alongside KL Rahul. He was on the move from ball one. He took Afghani spinners to the cleaners and even executed a sweep shot, which was unlike him. Kohli appeared at ease and displayed a beautiful display of his old rhythm. While chasing, Afghanistan were ousted by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who took a fifer. India won the match by a massive 101 runs.
“Shocked to see my 60’s being labeled as failures”, Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli was awarded Man of the Match for his mammoth knock of 122. In the post-match presentation, he poured his heart out and revealed what he went through during this tough phase. He said that even when he was playing well and contributing to the team with the 60s, those knocks were termed as failures.
“What surprised me was my 60s became failures; quite shocking for me, batting pretty well and contributing, but it doesn’t seem to be enough.”
He further shared that the support and space he received from the team was a major confidence booster for him. He said,
“The team environment has had great communication with me, kept me relaxed, and kept my perspective right. When I came back, there was not much information coming my way. They just said “bat” and it was a matter of getting into the space of enjoyment”
Kohli untroubled by the opinions
He further added that the break from the game helped him a lot to put things into perspective. He also added that there was a lot of advice and suggestions coming his way, but he was unable to convey what he was going through.
“I have had many suggestions; a lot of advice has come my way; people were telling me I was doing this wrong, that wrong; I picked out all the videos from the best time I had; same initial movement, same approach towards the ball, and it was just what was happening inside my head; I wasn’t able to explain it to anyone. At the end of the day, you know as an individual where you stand. People will have their opinions, but they cannot feel what you are feeling. I am very grateful for that time and needed it to change my perspective. “
Even though India were knocked out of the tournament, Kohli’s big innings is a massive boost for the team considering the T20 World Cup is just around the corner. India will hope that Virat continues his run in the upcoming Australia and South Africa series as well.
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