‘Kohli has shown again why he is called great’

During an Asia Cup Super Four clash against arch-rival Pakistan Kohli broke a long-standing Sachin Tendulkar record during another brilliant ODI knock against Pakistan

New Delhi: Once again, India’s batting talisman Virat Kohli, demonstrated his mettle in the cricket world by becoming the fastest batter to score 13,000 runs in ODI format.

During an Asia Cup Super Four clash against arch-rival Pakistan Kohli broke a long-standing Sachin Tendulkar record during another brilliant ODI knock against Pakistan. Rajkumar Sharma, the childhood coach of Kohli, said that the former India captain’s knock against Pakistan has shown the world why he is called great.

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“The kind of start by Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill and the way Virat Kohli and KL Rahul capitalized, great performance by India. Virat Kohli has shown again why he is called great. This is a great moment, today he completed 13000 runs (ODI)…he showed that he is still the fittest player in the Indian cricket team,” Rajkumar Sharma told ANI.

During his outstanding knock against Pakistan in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup, Kohli completed 13,000 ODI runs, becoming the fifth player to reach the landmark in men’s ODIs.

“This is a very big moment, today he completed 13000 runs, so I would like to congratulate him. The way he scored runs for his team and accelerated his innings was amazing. Especially against Pakistan, Virat plays really well and with this knock, he has shown he is a champion player,” said Kohli’s childhood coach.

Sharma hopes that India will register a victory against Pakistan with a good margin and that their confidence will be boosted for the upcoming match. “I have full hope that today India will win the match by a good margin. So today India’s confidence will be very high and its effect will be seen in the coming matches. India is a strong contender in the World Cup and I believe this is a great and balanced team,” he added.

The No.3 batter resumed from his score of seven overnight and survived an early review for caught behind off Naseem Shah’s over. He looked in pristine touch thereafter, combining with a proactive KL Rahul to really press home India’s good start.

Kohli took 55 balls to get to his half-century but took only 29 more balls to get to his 47th ODI hundred. Rahul too, meanwhile, completed his ton to give India a strong total in Colombo.

Kohli’s vintage performance and KL Rahul’s unbridled century powered India to 356/2 against arch-rivals Pakistan in their Asia Cup Super Four clash at R. Premadasa Stadium on Monday. Captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill’s half-centuries laid the foundation for India, while the unbeaten 233-run partnership between Kohli and Rahul added the icing on the cake as the former skipper finished the innings in style with a maximum.

Kohli finished his innings with an unbeaten 122, which came from 94 deliveries, while Rahul smashed a fiery 111 of 106 balls.