Australian legend Matthew Hayden feels cricket fans should celebrate every achievement of Virat Kohli at this World Cup. Kohli has played a pivotal role in Team India’s dominant run in the home campaign this year.
He has already struck one hundred and four half-centuries in the tournament. Another ton will help Kohli equal Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing record of 49 ODI centuries. He went quite close to achieving the historic feat on a couple of occasions but failed by small margins. In India’s last World Cup match against Sri Lanka, Kohli fell only 12 runs short of breaching the triple-figure mark.
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Despite the disappointing end to the remarkable knock, Hayden showered immense praise on Kohli. During an interaction with ESPN Cricinfo, Hayden said that Kohli has already established his stature as one of the greatest of the game and his approach certainly inspires the budding cricketers of this generation. According to the Aussie great, Kohli mostly prefers to play with timing rather than smashing the ball with the power of his bat.
“Kohli epitomises for young kids watching the game and those playing on the streets in India. What’s great about him is the way he holds his shape, trusts his abilities and doesn’t overhit the ball. Modern players always seem to favour power over their ability just to be able to strike the ball,” Hayden said.
During the conversation, Hayden referred to Kohli’s intent during his innings against Sri Lanka. He arrived at the crease following the early dismissal of captain Rohit Sharma. Instead of taking any unnecessary risks, Kohli took time to get settled before dishing out his A-game, considering the nature of the surface at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. He faced 94 balls to score 88 runs, a knock that comprised as many as 11 boundaries.
Hayden said, “Wankhede is a relatively tricky wicket to bat on. But once you get in, you can never get out. It, however, requires a special skill to think through the innings as well. Kohli understood his role. He just needed to get through the powerplay and continue with just good strokeplay.”
In the end, Hayden urged fans to savour this period of Kohli’s career, drawing an emotional comparison with Sachin Tendulkar. “It is a masterclass watching Kohli and such a treat. We shouldn’t take this period of Kohli’s career for granted because, in the blink of an eye, he will be gone like Tendulkar,” the cricketer-turned-pundit said.
Kohli has already recorded 442 runs in seven appearances in this home World Cup. He is currently third in terms of scoring the most runs in the tournament, following Quinton de Kock and Rachin Ravindra.
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