Dubai: He may not have scored a hundred in Test matches since November 2019, former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has picked Virat Kohli as the best among the current 'big five' batters in red-ball cricket.Watson has rated Kohli ahead of Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, Australia's Steve Smith and England Test captain Joe Root in the latest episode of The ICC Review, the ICC's monthly podcast.The world's current No.1 Test batter Marnus Labuschagne, who has played 26 Test matches and averages 54.31, would have increased the 'big 'ive' to a 'big six', but was left out of the debate for this topic due to a 40-Test minimum being the criteria selected, the ICC said in a report on its official website.Watson rates the 33-year-old Kohli at the top of the unofficial 'big five' with Babar Azam second, with Smith, Williamson and Root following in that order from third to fifth. Kohli has scored 8043 runs in 171 innings of 101 Tests at an average of 49.95, Babar has 2851 in 71 innings of 40 Tests at 45.98 is second while Smith with 8010 runs from 151 innings of 85 matches is third with an average of 59.77.Williamson has scored 7272 runs in 150 innings of 86 Tests at 53.57 while Root has 9889 runs in 216 innings of 117 Test matches at 49.19.Though Smith and Williamson have a batting average that is better than Kohli and Joe Root has amassed more runs than all of them, Watson said he will rate the former India captain as No 1 among the unofficial Big Five because of his high intensity every time he goes out to play."In Test match cricket, I am always going to say, Virat Kohli," Watson said, when asked by Isa Guha, former England cricketer and commentator, about who he thought is the best Test batter in the world."It's nearly superhuman, what he is able to do because he has such high intensity every time he goes out to play," Watson was quoted as saying by the ICC website.While Kohli is only rated 10th on the ICC Men's Test batter rankings, the Indian great holds a remarkable Test batting record. Kohli has scored 27 Test centuries and 28 half-centuries and currently has a Test batting average of just under 50, it said,Though Azam finished as Pakistan's second-highest run-scorer during the recent three-Test series against Australia and has impressed everyone, Watson said he still has some way to go to claim his top ranking in the illustrious group.As far as his compatriot Steve Smith, Watson said the former Australia captain has dropped down that list a little bit."Steve Smith has just started to come off a little bit," Watson added. "It looks like Smith has really started to play for time a little bit more and is not putting as much pressure on the bowlers as he did when was at his absolute best. For me, Steve has dropped down that list a little bit."About Williamson, Watson said the Black Caps captain has been hampered by elbow issues. As far as Root is concerned Watson said the England captain has not been able to score big like has done in the past."Joe Root recently scored a hundred but he has had a bit of time along the lines of Steve Smith where he hasn't been able to nail the big scores like he has done in the past," Watson said."It's incredible how these world-class batters just go through waves where instead of scoring those big hundreds, get the 70s-80s, but still have an impact on the game but are not able to really maintain that really high standard of getting those big runs as they have done in the past."Currently rated fourth on the ICC Men's Test batter rankings, Root showed his class during England's recent Test series against the West Indies by making consecutive centuries for his country. In total, he has 25 Test centuries to his name. The ICC said Watson's ranking of the 'big five' is sure to generate a debate and it sure will as Kohli has not been that successful in recent times.In the last-10 matches, he trails the other four with 553 runs at 30.72 while Williamson leads the pack 950 from 17 innings. Root has 789 from 19 innings of 10 Tests, Smith 773 in 16 innings while Azam has amassed 769 runs in 16 innings of his last 10 Tests at an average of 48.06.—IANS

 He may not have scored a hundred in Test matches since November 2019, former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has picked Virat Kohli as the best among the current 'big five' batters in red-ball cricket.

ICC Review: Watson Rates Kohli Ahead Of Smith, Williamson, Root And Babar Among Big 5 Test Batters

Mumbai: Batting stalwarts Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson's woeful form will be in focus when Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad meet in a return IPL fixture at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, on Sunday.Both Kohli and Williamson are struggling for runs this season. While the Indian has scored just 216 runs in 11 games, at an average of 21.60, the Sunrisers Hyderabad captain has 199 from 10 matches, at an average of 22.11.The two batting stars have failed to live up to the high standards they have set for themselves and their teams will be hoping they snap the wretched run and provide decisive contributions.Kohli showed glimpses of returning to form with a fifty against Gujarat Titans, but had a howler in the victory over Chennai Super Kings in the previous game. After hitting three boundaries and a six, the former RCB skipper found it hard to hit big shots and relied on singles, which eventually led to the run-out of teammate Glenn Maxwell. Kohli could score just a 33-ball 30.Williamson is a consistent run-scorer who relies on timing and placement of the ball. However, he has failed to convert starts into big scores. The Kiwi's strike rate is a dismal 96.13. and he, perhaps, needs to be more aggressive in his approach.After a five-match winning streak, the Sunrisers slumped to three defeats on the trot due to a variety of reasons, including injuries to their frontline bowlers. They sit sixth on the points table.Sunrisers Hyderabad’s main spinner Washington Sundar injured his bowling hand again, while death over specialist T Natarajan, the side's highest wicket-taker, also picked up a niggle in the loss to CSK. The duo subsequently missed the match against Delhi Capitals and the bowling unit struggled in their absence, going for over 200 runs.It is to be seen if the two return for the game on Sunday.Marco Jansen was dropped from the side, but Tom Moody will be tempted to bring back the South African given that he was the wrecker-in-chief against RCB last time.Pace sensation Umran Malik was pummeled into submission by the Delhi batters and the youngster will want to work on developing some variations rather than cranking up the pace every time he is hit for runs.&nbsp;Kartik Tyagi and Shreyas Gopal also need to get their act together.With the bat, Abhishek Sharma has given SRH solid starts but the youngster needs to take his innings deep rather than play a flash in the pan sort of knocks.Nicholas Pooran was brilliant in the past couple of games, showing that he can finish off matches with a little assistance from the top order.Incidentally,, when they bundled out the Faf du Plessis-led side for 68 in 16.1 overs and hit up the required runs in just eight overs to win by nine wickets. The Orange Army will hope the team can fashion a similar result again.For RCB, the bowlers did the trick against CSK. In Josh Hazlewood, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj and Wanindu Hasarnaga, RCB have four match-winners, while Glenn Maxwell and Shahbaz Ahmed have also played their part well.While the focus will be on Kohli, RCB have also power-hitters in captain Du Plessis, Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaaz Ahmed, who can be destructive on their day if they fire in unison.With the winning momentum on their side the Royal Challengers will be hoping to extract sweet revenge.Royal Challengers Bangalore:&nbsp;Faf du Plessis (Captain), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudesai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Rajat Patidar, Siddharth Kaul.Sunrisers Hyderabad:&nbsp;Kane Williamson (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Priyam Garg, Vishnu Vinod, Glenn Phillips, R Samarth, Shashank Singh, Romario Shepherd, Marco Jansen, J Suchith, Shreyas Gopal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sean Abbott, Kartik Tyagi, Saurabh Tiwary, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Umran Malik, T Natarajan—PTI

Batting stalwarts Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson's woeful form will be in focus when Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad meet in a return IPL fixture at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, on Sunday.

Kohli vs Kane as RCB, SRH scramble for play-off berths

Mumbai: The poster boy of Indian cricket Virat Kohli, who is going through an unprecedented lean patch, said during a chat on Wednesday that he felt "absolutely helpless" after his second first-ball duck in the ongoing IPL. Kohli has only 216 runs in 12 innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore.During the current IPL season, he has managed to score a half-century once. Kohli has got three ducks so far this season, two of which have been golden ducks. He said in a video uploaded by Royal Challengers Bangalore, that how much he misses his best friend and former RCB teammate AB de Villiers.The host of the show jokingly asked Virat about his love for animals and 'ducks', to which Kohli replied, "First-ball ducks. After the second one, I actually realised what it feels like to be like you, absolutely helpless. It hasn't happened to me ever in my career, I think. I have seen everything now. It's been so long, I have seen everything in this game."Speaking about his loyalty to RCB, Virat said, "The perks of loyalty are way more than the perks of captaincy." Virat Kohli also went on to say how much he misses his best friend and former RCB teammate AB de Villiers, "I miss him a lot. I speak to him regularly, quite regularly. He keeps messaging me - he was in the US recently watching Golf - Augusta Masters is what I heard it was called. So, he told me he was there experiencing it with his friends and family. We stay in touch - he is very keenly obviously watching RCB and hopefully here next year in some capacity."Commenting on Faf Du Plessis, Virat said, "I and Faf have always gotten along really well even before we played together this season because he was the captain of South Africa for a while. Faf is a guy who is very sure of himself, and he has full authority on the field. Sometimes I mention things and tells me 'no, I don't want to do that', which I respect a lot because that obviously makes you gain respect for the person you are playing under.""As I said, we have had mutual respect for many years even before he played for RCB because he was captain of South Africa, and always had some nice conversations - pre-match, post-match. Yeah, there was always respect there but now I have gotten to know him much better and he's a brilliant guy and yes obviously a very good-looking guy," he added.RCB are currently ranked 4th in the points table with 7 wins in 12 games. To finish the league stage among the top four teams, they must win at least one of their remaining two games—ANI

 The poster boy of Indian cricket Virat Kohli, who is going through an unprecedented lean patch, said during a chat on Wednesday that he felt "absolutely helpless" after his second first-ball duck in the ongoing IPL. Kohli has only 216 runs in 12 innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

'I felt absolutely helpless': Kohli breaks silence on poor form in IPL

Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have found much-needed momentum towards the business end of IPL 2022, will back themselves to ride past an inconsistent Punjab Kings and get closer to a play-off spot at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Friday.

IPL: Will Kohli bounce back to form against Punjab Kings?

Mumbai: Mike Hesson, the director of cricket at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) feels that a big knock is around the corner from Virat Kohli’s bat. Hesson added that Kohli’s lean run in IPL 2022, registering just one half-century in 13 matches, is not due to a technical issue.On Friday, in a mammoth chase of 210, Kohli failed to cash on to a good start and fell in the fourth over off Kagiso Rabada after making 20 off 14 balls, leaving the talismanic batter frustrated while walking back to the dressing room. “Look he (Kohli) is the best we have ever had in terms of RCB. He is an incredible player. He hasn’t scored the volume of runs I am sure he would have liked. Today he looked in really good touch. It is not a technical thing. As I said, he is putting in a lot of work behind the scenes,” said Hesson in the post-match virtual press conference.“He looked in really good touch. He was unfortunate. I thought we were going to see something special. Virat is as frustrated as anyone but we know that the epic one (from Kohli) is around the corner. We have got a huge game coming up. So, there is no reason why it won’t be in a few days’ time,” added Hesson while expressing confidence in Kohli’s bounceback ability.54-run lossHesson pointed out that luck has not been in Kohli’s favour of late, which has meant that he gets out through uncharacteristic ways as Bangalore slumped to a 54-run loss. “We are always talking with all of our players. Virat, I thought, looked very good today. He looked in good touch, he was aggressive, and he is doing everything off the park as well in terms of making sure he prepares well. I thought today was going to be his day but once again, it hits the other side of the thigh pad and goes down and he gets a leg bye.“He has not had a huge amount of fortune especially when he has got himself set, when he has got himself in. He is as frustrated as anybody. We thought today was going to be the day. As a batting unit, today was our opportunity to put up our hand up in chasing a formidable score like that but we lost wickets in clumps.”—IANS

Mike Hesson, the director of cricket at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) feels that a big knock is around the corner from Virat Kohli’s bat. Hesson added that Kohli’s lean run in IPL 2022, registering just one half-century in 13 matches, is not due to a technical issue.

An epic knock from Kohli is around the corner, feels Mike Hesson

Mumbai: A vintage blitz from Virat Kohli (73 off 54 balls), with support from Faf du Plessis (44 off 38 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (40 not out off 18 balls) takes Royal Challengers Bangalore to fourth place in IPL 2022 points table with an emphatic eight-wicket win over table-toppers Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. After Hardik Pandya’s unbeaten 62 carried Gujarat to 168/5, Kohli came out all guns blazing, bringing out his vintage self with a pumped-up attitude to notch up his highest score of the tournament while stitching a 115-run opening stand with du Plessis. After the duo fell, Maxwell applied the finishing touches as RCB emerged victorious with eight balls to spare.With Bangalore’s win, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings are out of the knockouts race. For Bangalore to retain their fourth place and progress to the playoffs, they would need Delhi Capitals to lose to Mumbai Indians on Saturday. In the pursuit of 169, Bangalore were off to a flying start with Kohli and du Plessis hitting nine boundaries to reach 55/0 in power-play. It was also just the third time Gujarat failed to pick a wicket in the first six overs. The chief reason behind it was Kohli running quick off the blocks and quashing queries over his poor form throughout the tournament, with the crowd at Wankhede Stadium firmly cheering for the talismanic batter.He began by lofting Mohammed Shami over his head and then superbly lofted him inside-out over extra-cover. Thursday felt like luck was favouring Kohli heavily. When Hardik Pandya cramped Kohli with a slower ball, the thick inside edge rolled past the stumps.When Kohli whipped a full ball in the air, Rashid Khan, who was inches inside the square-leg boundary, dropped the catch. Kohli then produced the shot of the match, dancing down the pitch and lofting straight over Rashid’s head with impeccable timing.With du Plessis giving solid support, Kohli brought up his fifty in 33 balls with a nice clipped six over deep mid-wicket off Rashid. Du Plessis brought up the century of the opening partnership by swatting Lockie Ferguson through mid-wicket. But he fell six short of his fifty, as top-edge on slog sweep went to cover off Rashid, bringing the 115-run stand to a close.Rashid then hit the top of Maxwell’s leg stump as the batter tried to swipe across the line. But the bails didn’t come off and the ball rolled away for four byes. The slice of luck at the start proved advantageous for Maxwell as he smacked Pandya for sixes – loft over long-on and reverse scoop over third man – apart from a boundary through long leg. Kohli’s dazzling show continued as he elegantly brought out a lofted drive over long-off against Rashid. But a ball later, Kohli tried to hit another six but the ball went through the gap between bat and pad to be stumped by a quickish googly from Rashid. Maxwell smacked four boundaries in his next nine balls, including three off Ferguson, to seal the match in Bangalore’s favour. Brief scores: Gujarat Titans 168/5 in 20 overs (Hardik Pandya 62 not out, David Miller 34; Josh Hazlewood 2/39, Wanindu Hasaranga 1/25) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 170/2 in 18.4 overs (Virat Kohli 73, Faf du Plessis 44; Rashid Khan 2/32)—IANS

A vintage blitz from Virat Kohli (73 off 54 balls), with support from Faf du Plessis (44 off 38 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (40 not out off 18 balls) takes Royal Challengers Bangalore to fourth place in IPL 2022 points table with an emphatic eight-wicket win over table-toppers Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.

 IPL 2022: Kohli blitz takes Bangalore to fourth place with 8-wicket win over Gujarat 

Mumbai: Royal Challengers Bangalore's star batter Virat Kohli has not had the best of IPL seasons. However, that has not deterred his spirit. The former RCB captain opened up on his current form and how he maintains a positive frame of mind. Speaking on the Star Sports show 'Inside RCB', Kohli said: "My experiences are sacred to me. Whatever I have experienced in this phase or in the past as well, one thing I can vouch for is that I have never valued myself more as a person. Because I'm experiencing now that there is a big sense of the identity that's created by the world for you, which is far more different and so far away from the reality of you as a human being. So, what I'm experiencing now is that I am valuing myself and I care for my own well-being way more I would have in the past." "I'm actually in the happiest phase of my life. I am not finding any self-worth or value in what I do on the field. I'm way past that phase. This is a phase of evolution for me. Not to say that I don't have the same drive, my drive will never die down. The day my drive goes away, I'll not be playing this game.""But to understand that somethings are not controllable, the only controllable you have are things that you can work towards, which is working hard on the field and in life as well and from that point of view, I feel that I am in the most balanced space that I have ever been and I am happy with who I am and how I am leading my life. I am not finding any source of encouragement or disappointment by what happens on the field. So, this has not been about myself, this is about the fact that I have not contributed to my team's cause as much as I would have wanted to or I pride myself to, and that is something that always disappoints me, not what I do as an individual. It's because I don't want to let my team down," he added.Former Team India skipper Kohli has been out of form for quite a while now. After being retained by RCB ahead of mega auctions of IPL 2022, Kohli has scored only 236 in 13 matches, with an average of 19.67 and a strike rate of 113.46.Virat Kohli also talked about his transition from a captain to a player, "To be honest, it's different. I won't say it's hard because it's something that you're involved in regularly. So, the good thing is that my relationship with Faf has always been good. We also have a leadership group in the team where we all share our inputs. Even on the field, when Faf is on the outfield and I am inside, I make sure to look after the fielding angles and the placement, so he's given me the liberty to adjust wherever I feel that there's a need, but always keeping him in the loop obviously. So, it's been a different way to look at the game, but because I've done it so much in the past, it's not something that I don't know how to do.""It is just different at this moment and something that obviously came as second nature to me when I played under MS and honestly, I thoroughly enjoyed playing in that space as well where I was looked at as a responsible player in the team and I could contribute in many ways and obviously give my inputs to the captain as well. That really excited me whenever I stepped onto the field which is the case this time as well," he pointed.RCB square off with table-toppers Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2022 on Thursday for a spot in the playoffs.—ANI

Royal Challengers Bangalore's star batter Virat Kohli has not had the best of IPL seasons. However, that has not deterred his spirit. The former RCB captain opened up on his current form and how he maintains a positive frame of mind.

This is a phase of evolution for me: Kohli

Mumbai: ''Thank you, Mumbai, we will remember this one,'' said Virat Kohli after Royal Challengers Bangalore sneaked into the playoffs following Mumbai Indians' thrilling five-wicket win over Delhi Capitals in their last game of the IPL here. On Saturday, MI chased down a victory target of 160 in 19.1 overs to knockout Delhi from the competition and paved the way for RCB's entry as the fourth and final team in the knockout stage. ''It was unbelievable. The emotions in the changing room were unbelievable. Thank you, Mumbai, we will remember this one,'' Kohli said in a release.RCB had defeated table-toppers Gujarat Titans by eight wickets in their final league match to keep their hopes alive for a playoff, which depended on the clash between DC and MI.Delhi needed to win the match to make it to the playoffs but they came a cropper against bottom-placed MI. RCB skipper Faf Du Plessis said the entire team watched the match together and was cheering every move made by the Mumbai team. ''It was so good, I think first of all it was nice to see that everyone was here from the start of the game, so we watched it together,'' he said.''We were all shouting for every wicket that Mumbai got and then when they are chasing every boundary. It's good for everyone to watch together and then the celebration towards the end was awesome to be a part of.'' RCB will now take on third-placed Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator at Edens Gardens on May 25. ''The last game we played we felt almost like we played our best game of cricket of this campaign so far and that is how you want to enter the knockout stages, so we needed someone to do us a favor and Mumbai did that for us, we are very thankful for that,'' Du Plessis said.''Obviously, now the work starts again, and we get our work mode back on.'' RCB has never won the IPL and allrounder Glenn Maxwell feels the team is very close to achieving that dream. ''Amazing result for us tonight. There is just one small step in us going further, we are that close to making history for RCB in this tournament. We needed another team, but from now on it's all us.'—PTI

''Thank you, Mumbai, we will remember this one,'' said Virat Kohli after Royal Challengers Bangalore sneaked into the playoffs following Mumbai Indians' thrilling five-wicket win over Delhi Capitals in their last game of the IPL here.

Thank you, Mumbai, we will remember this one: Kohli after MI's win

Kolkata: Talismanic batter Virat Kohli praised the “very, very special” performance of Rajat Patidar, the unlikely hero of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s 14-run win in the Eliminator match of IPL 2022 over newbies Lucknow Super Giants. On Wednesday, at the Eden Gardens, Patidar cruised to a 49-ball century to remain unbeaten on 112 to set the base for Bangalore’s victory and set up their Qualifier 2 clash with Rajasthan Royals on Friday in Ahmedabad.“The magnitude of the game was so big that I was feeling the tension in the air because I have been in those situations where you have to cross the line as a team. What he did was very, very special, I don’t think that anyone should take that for granted. You should understand the excellence of the innings and appreciate as a cricketer to watch an innings like that,” said Kohli in a post-match chat video with Patidar uploaded on IPL website.Patidar, a top-order batter from Madhya Pradesh who was drafted into the side midway through the tournament as an injury replacement for Luvnith Sisodia, came to Bangalore’s rescue after Faf Du Plessis fell for a golden duck. His knock, laced with 12 boundaries and seven sixes, at a strike rate of 207.41, enthralled the capacity crowd at the stadium.“I told him as well after the game as well that I have seen many impact innings and many innings under pressure over so many years. I have not seen many better than how Rajat played today. Under pressure, big game, first uncapped player in the history of IPL to get a hundred in playoffs,” added Kohli. Asked about his mindset while coming out to bat, Patidar explained, “Seriously, there was pressure but I had the belief that if I stitch a partnership, I can get the team to a good position. It didn’t matter to me if I had played a few dot balls initially and had the trust that I could cover up for it if I stayed at the wicket for long. I had in mind that if a dot ball is played, then the mind will not be in pressure and irrespective of the bowler in front, can cover up later.”Patidar put on key partnerships for Bangalore, starting from a 66-run stand with Kohli, who made 25 and followed it up with a whirlwind partnership of 92 runs with wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, who was unbeaten on 37 off 23 balls. “The innings I had played till now (in the tournament), it was played till 14-15 overs. Here, a couple of wickets fell and I had in my mind that if I save my end and get some runs, will take the team to a safe position. That was my focus,” added Patidar. Lucknow came close to chasing 208 but when KL Rahul fell in the 19th over to pacer Josh Hazlewood, the fate of the match was sealed effectively in Bangalore’s favour. “During the chase, I felt if KL Rahul played till the end, then the match could be gone out of the hand. I was thinking that no matter what happens, someone get KL Rahul out so that we can come on top,” stated Patidar. Echoing the same sentiment as Patidar’s, Kohli added, “At the end, there were a few tense moments. Obviously, it was a big game, but I think our bowlers held their nerve very well. Waniya (Hasaranga) how he bowled through his middle overs was outstanding. Josh (Hazlewood) bowling that important over in the end, and getting two wickets for us was crucial. Harshal was unbelievable while Siraj with the new ball was great and Shahbaz bowled his four overs well.”Now with the Kolkata leg of playoffs over, Bangalore will travel to Ahmedabad to take on Rajasthan in Qualifier 2 on Friday, where the winner of the match will face Gujarat Titans in the title clash at the same venue on Sunday. “We were really happy that we got across the line. The best thing is we have one day and then we play again the day after tomorrow. Absolutely cannot wait to get to Ahmedabad and take the field again. We are just so excited and happy with how things have gone. We just want to go further in this tournament. Hopefully two more good games and then we all can celebrate,” concluded Kohli.—IANS

Talismanic batter Virat Kohli praised the “very, very special” performance of Rajat Patidar, the unlikely hero of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s 14-run win in the Eliminator match of IPL 2022 over newbies Lucknow Super Giants.

IPL 2022: What Rajat Patidar Did Was Very, Very Special, Says Virat Kohli On RCB’s Unlikely Hero

Mumbai: Virat Kohli has made "more mistakes in one IPL season" than he has in his entire 14-year international career, feels Virender Sehwag, who is seeing a "different version" of the former India captain than what one is used to. Kohli, who hasn't scored an international hundred for more than two-and-half years, is enduring his worst slump, having aggregated 341 runs in 16 IPL games at a below-par average of 22.73 and two half-centuries. He opened the innings in most of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s matches."This is not the Virat Kohli that we know. This is a different Virat Kohli playing this season. Otherwise, the number of mistakes that he has committed this season, he hasn't done it in his entire career," Sehwag told&nbsp;Cricbuzz. Sehwag, one of India's greatest match-winners in his prime, however empathised with Kohli. He feels India's No.1 batter has got out in all possible manners in his desperate bid to try out different tactics."It can happen when you are not scoring runs. You try looking at various options to get out of bad patch and that leads you to getting dismissed in various ways. This season, Kohli has been out in all possible ways that one can think of," the man with 17,000-plus international runs across formats, added.In the second qualifier, Kohli chased a fast, rising delivery from pacer Prasidh Krishna, which was wide outside the off-stump, giving a simple catch to Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson behind the stumps."When you are out of form, then you have tendency of trying to middle each and every delivery. A batter thinks if I can middle the ball, I will gain more confidence."However, Virat did leave a lot of deliveries in that first over (from Trent Boult) but this is what happens when you are out of form. You tend to chase the deliveries wide outside the off-stump. You start following each of them. So when you have luck going your way, even in bad form, you will not edge it but here this didn't happen," the former opener explained.What did catch Sehwag's attention was his indecisive poke at the delivery."The delivery that he got out to -- it had pace and bounce. So he could have either left it or may be just go hard at it. Who knows, it might have flown over ‘keeper's head but what he did was give simple catch practice. It was as if he was giving catching practice like we do for the slip fielders during net session," he analysed.Sehwag did not mince words when he said that Kohli did disappoint his millions of fans as one expects stars to own the big stage."He has certainly disappointed everyone. We all expect that in a big game, the big player will perform, he disappointed not only himself but also his legion of fans and the RCB fans."Former India ‘keeper Parthiv Patel raised a pertinent point about Kohli not having the cut shot in his repertoire, which at times comes handy during lean patches. "On a bouncy track, one needs to play the cut shot. But Virat never plays the cut shot, that's not his technique. So the delivery that got him out, a very similar delivery was also bowled to Rajat Patidar, who slashed hard and it went over fielder's head for four runs," said Parthiv.—PTI

Virat Kohli has made "more mistakes in one IPL season" than he has in his entire 14-year international career, feels Virender Sehwag, who is seeing a "different version" of the former India captain than what one is used to.

'It was a different Virat Kohli this IPL season'

Mumbai: Former India captain and stylish batter Mohammad Azharuddin believes that Virat Kohli's "staggering consistency" when he was at his peak some two years back has set the benchmark so high that even if the charismatic cricketer scores in the 50s of 60s, his fans feel he has underperformed. "With Virat Kohli, what happens is that even if he scores a 50, people say he has failed," Azhar was quoted as saying by Khaleej Times on Friday. "I think it happens to every cricketer, even the best of the players have gone through these lean periods," opined the 59-year-old.However, Azhar felt it's a matter of time before Kohli rediscovers his form, adding that just one century for the cricketer will get him firing again. Kohli has endured a long lean path, having not scored a century since November 2019 in any of the three formats.He then endured a poor IPL 2022 season, scoring 341 runs from 16 matches at 22.73, even though he is the highest-ever run-getter in a single IPL season, when he scored 973 in 2016 for Royal Challengers Bangalore. "There is nothing wrong with his technique. Sometimes you also need a little bit of luck. If he gets one big score, a big hundred, the aggression and the confidence will come back," added Azhar. Azhar also hoped that all-rounder Hardik Pandya, after leading Gujarat Titans to the IPL 2022 title recently as captain, needs to show consistency for long periods. "He has the ability, he has done well for the Indian team, but because of the injuries, he was not in the team consistently. He has come back now, he is bowling his four overs. How long he will bowl we really don't know. But we definitely want him to bowl since he is an all-rounder," he said. "In the IPL final (against Rajasthan Royals), he completely changed the game, three wickets in four overs, then he scored 34 quick runs. He is a good talent, just needs that consistency."—IANS

Former India captain and stylish batter Mohammad Azharuddin believes that Virat Kohli's "staggering consistency" when he was at his peak some two years back has set the benchmark so high that even if the charismatic cricketer scores in the 50s of 60s, his fans feel he has underperformed.

Nothing wrong with Virat's technique says Azhar

Mumbai: South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma says the upcoming T20I series against India will be an opportunity for him to identify players for specific roles for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in Australia later this year. The South African T20 side last competed in November at the World Cup in Sharjah and with the next World event slated to begin in October, Bavuma is keen to marshal his troops."The conditions in India don't accurately simulate conditions in Australia. In saying that, there's still a lot of benefit from playing. Any type of competitive cricket will be good for us," Bavuma said during a virtual media interaction on Saturday."We will be using these games really to familiarise ourselves again with how we go about playing cricket. Getting that right language that we speak amongst ourselves, really getting guys understanding what their roles are within the team."The visitors will also be fielding a few new faces in a bid to find an able opening partner for Quinton de Kock."We have got a couple of new faces within the T20 space. Opportunities will be given to those guys to see what role they can play and what value they can add to the team."The Indian team will be without many senior cricketers but Bavuma expects the rubber to be very competitive.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With India's major stars like skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah rested for the series, the hosts are being led by KL Rahul and will feature some new faces including pacers Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh."It's obviously a new-look Indian side. A lot of guys who have done well in the recent IPL have been given opportunities. From us as a team we wouldn't be looking at it any differently," Bavuma said."We don't really see it as taking on a ‘B' side. We have played against the Indian T20 side. So, going into the game, we will still be as motivated as ever. The competitiveness will be there," he added.The South African white-ball skipper feels the Indian team in recent times has had players who go hard and play aggressive cricket."The attitude, the mindset of the Indian team, in the last couple of years, has changed. It's guys who play cricket hard, who play very competitively. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are not there but the Indian fighting spirit will still be there."We don't expect them to take it easy on us. We don't expect it to be easy on us. We still expect it to be tough, and we'll be approaching it in that manner."Asked about areas they would like to improve Bavuma said. "That's (batting) a thing we would like to solidify. More specifically at the top.""If I look at our bowling there is a bit more of solidity and clarity. With these games we will be trying to find those combinations, or particularly for&nbsp;who partners up with Quinton upfront."One, two or number three position are probably where we'd like to get a lot more clarity. But I think everything else will kind of will continue as is. Our middle order is our middle order, we've got a nice set of&nbsp;all rounders is more particularly at the top."In terms of the series, we are looking to win but also achieve all the other objectives as well."The&nbsp;India's spin twins Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav head into the five-match T20I series against South Africa after a stellar display in IPL 2022.&nbsp;But Bavuma is hopeful that South Africa's experienced batters will be able to deal with them."It will be a challenge. We have played against them a couple of times, and one hopes that we have a better understanding of conditions here in India. The guys are individually speaking about them. They have the individual ways of approaching spin and how they can be successful."For the younger guys, it'll be important how the others share that knowledge."The way that we played slow bowling over the last 18 months or so as a group gives us a lot of confidence and belief that we can dominate spin bowling and different types of bowling."South Africa are set to take on India in five T20Is, starting from June 9 to 19.—PTI

South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma says the upcoming T20I series against India will be an opportunity for him to identify players for specific roles for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in Australia later this year.

No Kohli, Rohit but South Africa still wary of India in T20s

South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma says the upcoming T20I series against India will be an opportunity for him to identify players for specific roles for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in Australia later this year.



Nainital: After India's star batter Virat Kohli failed to showcase his brilliant performance in the fifth Test against England, his childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma backed him and said that the former skipper will be back with a bang.Virat's flop show continued in the fifth Test against England at Edgbaston, where he could manage to score only 31 runs. Seeing his dismal performance, many fans expressed their anger on the internet and demanded the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) a break for Virat."See, I understand that he (Virat Kohli) has failed to give a brilliant performance for a long time now but that happens to every good player. The ball on which he lost his wicket in the second innings of the fifth Test against England, was really great and could have dismissed any batter. There is no need to give a break to Virat as he is perfectly fine," Rajkumar Sharma told ANI."Whatever he has done for Team India till now, no other player has been able to do that. I have full faith in him and he will be back with a bang," he added.After facing a seven-wicket defeat against England in the fifth Test, Team India will square off against the Three Lions in a white-ball series. Following this, the Men in Blue will be going up against West Indies for a three-match ODI series and five-match T20I series.Coming to the fifth Test, a 269-run partnership between Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow helped England create history, with the side completing their highest successful run chase ever in the longest format of the game with a seven-wicket win over India at Edgbaston in Birmingham. They were able to successfully chase down the target of 378 runs set by India. This win comes after England was bundled out for 284 in their first innings, trailing by 132 runs after India posted 416 in their first innings. India was bundled out for 245 in the third innings of the match setting a target of 378 for England to win.With this, England has levelled the series 2-2, denying India their first series win on English soil since 2007. They have also completed the most successful run chase at Edgbaston. India has also been handed over their first Test loss while defending a total of 350 or more. India and England will face each other for the three-match T20I series with the first game on Thursday at Southampton.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;—ANI

After India's star batter Virat Kohli failed to showcase his brilliant performance in the fifth Test against England, his childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma backed him and said that the former skipper will be back with a bang.

'Virat Will Be Back With A Bang', Says Childhood Coach Rajkumar Sharma

New Delhi : Indian cricket team's preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia this year are currently underway with the visitors taking on England in a three-match T20I series away from home. Indian selectors have their tasks cut out as they face some serious selection headaches in the build-up to the showpiece event Down Under with intense competition for spots in the squad.While there are a number of youngsters who have been impressing with their current form, the struggles of regular players like Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and skipper Rohit among others in T20Is is concerning for Team India. Kohli has been enduring a rough patch with the willow for the last few years and has not managed to score runs consistently across all formats. -- IANS

Indian cricket team's preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia this year are currently underway with the visitors taking on England in a three-match T20I series away from home.

 If Ashwin can be dropped from Test side, then Kohli can also be dropped: Kapil Dev

New Delhi : The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/topic/supreme-court" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; font-family: MontserratMedium, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17.18px; letter-spacing: 0.5px; white-space: normal;">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;on Monday asked the Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Rahul Narwekar not to take any action on the new disqualification notices issued against the members of Shiv Sena .A bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Maharashtra Governor, to inform its direction to the newly-appointed Assembly Speaker .The order of the bench came after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Uddhav Thackeray camp, mentioned the matter for urgent listing of the pleas saying the matters were posted for today but were not listed today ."The disqualification plea is listed tomorrow before the Speaker. Let there be no disqualification until the matter is decided," Sibal told the bench .Hearing this, the CJI asked Solicitor General to inform the Assembly Speaker not to take any decision until the pleas are decided by the apex court ."Please inform the Assembly Speaker not to take any decision until the plea is decided. Please inform the speaker through your office," the CJI told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who agreed to convey the message to the Speaker .The bench said the matter will require the constitution of the bench and it will take some time to be listed. It also clarified that the matter will not be listed tomorrow as well. ----- (ANI)

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Rahul Narwekar not to take any action on the new disqualification notices issued against the members of Shiv Sena .

SC asks Maha Assembly Speaker not to act on disqualification petition against Shiv Sena MLAs

London : Former England captain Michael Vaughan has applauded Babar Azam's support to embattled India cricketer Virat Kohli, saying what the 27-year-old Pakistan skipper had done is a "class act".Babar Azam has come out in support of Kohli, whose lean patch with the bat has extended for more than two years, and said this phase too shall pass and he will come out stronger. Taking to social media, Vaughan, who has been following Kohli's performance closely in the series here, tweeted, "Class act Babar (clapping symbol)."Babar, bothering little about what people might say in his country given the India-Pakistan cricket rivalry, asked Kohli to "stay strong" as the former India skipper tries to regain his form which had deserted him for more than two years.Recently, legendary cricketers such as Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar have been critical of Kohli's performance, with the former saying he should be dropped from the side and the latter indicating that some senior players are getting preferential treatment by being allowed to pick and choose which series they want to play.While Kohli continues to dish out one lacklustre performance after another, making just 16 runs in the second ODI against England on Thursday, which India lost by 100 runs at Lord's after he missed the first game with a groin injury, Babar Azam took to social media to back one of India's most successful former captains.The right-handed Kohli has now gone 77 consecutive international innings without reaching three figures, after scores of 1 and 11 in the T20I series against England and failures in the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston.With a T20 World Cup around the corner in Australia and World Test Championship points needed to keep up in a race for next year's final, Kohli's place in the team has been debated by fans and former legends, though his Pakistani counterpart has extended his support via social media.Babar Azam posted an image of him walking with Kohli on twitter and wrote, "This too shall pass. Stay strong. #ViratKohli."Fans, though, were surprised with Azam's concern for the India batter, saying he shouldn't be praising a rival team cricketer.While Kohli's stocks have plummeted, Babar Azam has been going great guns in all three formats of the game. Making international centuries in recent series against Australia and the West Indies, as well as a T20I half-century against Australia in Lahore last month, the Pakistan skipper is top of the list in the ICC batting rankings for both ODI and T20Is, and fourth in Test cricket.Earlier this week, Kohli also found support from captain Rohit Sharma, who stood up for his teammate ahead of the England ODIs. "When someone is scoring consistently for so long, we can't overlook his contribution if he is not scoring in one or two series or in one or two years. We know the importance of Virat Kohli. The experts have got all the right to talk about it but for us these things don't matter," he added. --- IANS

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has applauded Babar Azam's support to embattled India cricketer Virat Kohli, saying what the 27-year-old Pakistan skipper had done is a "class act".

Vaughan applauds Babar Azam for his support to embattled Virat Kohli

NEW DELHI : Since November 2019,&nbsp;<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/virat-kohli" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(45, 128, 254);">Virat Kohli</a>&nbsp;hasn't scored a century in international cricket and has been in a prolonged lean patch across all formats. With every low score coming off his bat, the debate on Kohli's poor form climbs up with the Men's T20&nbsp;<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/icc-cricket-world-cup-2019" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(45, 128, 254);">World Cup</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;Australia&nbsp;just three months away.Now, legendary all-rounder and 1983 World Cup-winning captain&nbsp;<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/kapil-dev" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(45, 128, 254);">Kapil Dev</a>&nbsp;feels that&nbsp;Kohli&nbsp;has still got a lot of cricket left in him and pointed out that the talismanic batter has to himself create a way for getting back amongst the runs."It's not like India haven't played without Virat in the last five to six years, but I want such a player to be back in form. Yes, he's been dropped or rested but there's still a lot of cricket left in him. And he has to create the path for that."Maybe play&nbsp;Ranji Trophy&nbsp;or score runs anywhere. His confidence needs to be back. This is the difference between a great and a good player. A great player like him shouldn't take so much time to get back in form. He has to fight with himself and get things in order," said&nbsp;Kapil&nbsp;to ABP News.After the conclusion of&nbsp;England&nbsp;tour, Kohli will not be travelling to&nbsp;<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/west-indies" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(45, 128, 254);">West Indies</a>&nbsp;for three ODIs and five T20Is. Asked on whether Kohli has been dropped or rested, Kapil remarked, "I can't say a big player like Virat Kohli should be dropped. He is a very big player. If you have said that he has been rested to give him respect then there's no harm in that."The most important part is how to bring such a player back in form? He's not an ordinary cricketer. He should get more practice and play more matches to get his form back. I don't think there's any player in this world who is bigger than Kohli in T20s but when you are not doing well, the selectors can take their call."My thinking is that if anybody is not doing well then he can be rested or dropped."Kapil signed off by pointing out that the cricketing world has been in the waiting for a long time for Kohli to get back to his scoring self. "Yes, it's a bit of a concern that he is taking so much time to get back in form, a great player doesn't take this long. I don't have any problems if he is dropped or rested but I want him to get (his) back in form. One innings can change a great player's fortune but when will that come, we don't know. We are waiting for (almost) two years for that." --- (IANS)

Since November 2019, Virat Kohli hasn't scored a century in international cricket and has been in a prolonged lean patch across all formats. With every low score coming off his bat, the debate on Kohli's poor form climbs up with the Men's T20 World Cup in Australia just three months away.

 Still a lot of cricket left in Virat; he has to create path for that: Kapil

Dubai: Stand-in India captain Shikhar Dhawan and batter Shreyas Iyer moved up while regular skipper Rohit Sharma and talismanic batter Virat Kohli dropped a spot each in the latest updates to the ICC Men's ODI Rankings on Wednesday.Dhawan, who scored a match-winning 97 in the first ODI against the West Indies, has moved up one place to joint-13th position while Iyer, who hit back-to-back fifties, is up 20 places to joint-54th spot in the rankings for the batters. Fast bowler Mohammad Siraj is in the top 100 of the bowlers' rankings.For the West Indies, opener and vice-captain Shai Hope is up three places to 12th place after his valiant 115 in the second match while fast bowler Alzarri Joseph has gained two places to reach 16th position after grabbing two wickets each in both matches.In the ODI series between England and South Africa finished at 1-1, it was in-form Proteas star Quinton de Kock that benefitted most as he jumped two places to be at fourth place. De Kock hit an unbeaten 92 during the final match of the series in Leeds, which meant that the India duo of Kohli (fifth) and Rohit (sixth) each dropped a spot courtesy of de Kock's moves.In the ICC Men's Test Player rankings, Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafique, who was declared Player of the Match for his second innings knock of 160 in first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle and has amassed 720 runs in his first six Tests, advanced 23 slots to reach 16th position with a Pakistan record of 671 rating points.The previous best by a Pakistan batter after six Tests was Saeed Ahmed's 614 rating points and only two batters have ever had more points after six Tests -- Sunil Gavaskar (692) and Donald Bradman (687).Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, whose 21 wickets rank him joint-third in terms of most wickets after two Tests, has moved up 11 places to 44th position with 481 rating points, the fourth highest by any bowler after two Tests. Narendra Hirwani (519), Alec Bedser (500) and Bob Massie (494) had higher rating points after two Tests.Pakistan captain Babar Azam's scores of 119 and 55 in the first Test see him overtake Australia's Steve Smith to reach a career high third ranking with a career best rating of 874 points. Babar is currently top ranked in both ODIs and T20Is and remains the only batter in the top 10 of all three lists.Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi moved up one place to a career best-equaling third position after grabbing four wickets in the first innings. Hasan Ali and Yasir Shah have gained a slot each to reach 13th and 32nd positions, respectively.Sri Lanka's Dinesh Chandimal has gained 11 slots to reach 18th position after scores of 76 and 94 not out while Kusal Mendis (up two places to 47th) and Oshada Fernando (up 11 places to 58th) too have made headway in the Test rankings.In the ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings, New Zealand batter Glenn Phillips (up three places to joint-27th among batters) and fast bowler Lockie Ferguson (up five places to 35th among bowlers) made notable progress, so as Ireland bowlers Mark Adair and Joshua Little, who are in 43rd and 44th positions, respectively.—IANS

Stand-in India captain Shikhar Dhawan and batter Shreyas Iyer moved up while regular skipper Rohit Sharma and talismanic batter Virat Kohli dropped a spot each in the latest updates to the ICC Men's ODI Rankings on Wednesday.

 Iyer, Dhawan move up while Rohit, Kohli drop a spot each in ICC Men's ODI Rankings

<span style="color: rgb(34,34,34);background-color: rgb(255,255,255);font-size: 15px;font-family: Verdana, BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;">Sydney: Captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav hit half-centuries in propelling India to a challenging 179/2 against the Netherlands in their second Group 2 match in Super 12s of Men’s T20 World Cup at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
<span style="color: rgb(34,34,34);background-color: rgb(255,255,255);font-size: 15px;font-family: Verdana, BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;">With the Netherlands putting a lid on the scoring rate, India found it difficult to break free on a two-paced pitch. But Rohit (53 off 39 balls) and Kohli (62 not out off 44 balls) shared a 73-run stand for the second wicket despite being scratchy at the start.
<span style="color: rgb(34,34,34);background-color: rgb(255,255,255);font-size: 15px;font-family: Verdana, BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;">Suryakumar (51 not out off 25 balls) then changed the tempo of the innings with his 360-degree style of batting and had an amazing 95-run stand off 48 deliveries with Kohli for the third wicket to set a stiff 180-target for the Netherlands.
<span style="color: rgb(34,34,34);background-color: rgb(255,255,255);font-size: 15px;font-family: Verdana, BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;">Electing to bat first, K.L Rahul got off the mark with a breezy drive past mid-off off Fred Klaassen. But in the third over, Rahul missed a flick and trapped lbw by a late inswinger from Paul van Meekeren though replays later showed the ball would have missed hitting leg-stump.
<span style="color: rgb(34,34,34);background-color: rgb(255,255,255);font-size: 15px;font-family: Verdana, BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;">With the Netherlands getting the ball to swing both ways and it stopping on the batters occasionally, India struggled for fluency and timing. Though Rohit Sharma pulled van Meekeren for a six over deep square-leg and nailed a square-cut through off-side for four, he wasn’t at his best.
<span style="color: rgb(34,34,34);background-color: rgb(255,255,255);font-size: 15px;font-family: Verdana, BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;">Rohit Sharma had slices of luck on his side: his miscued pull off Klaassen in the fifth over was dropped by Tim Pringle at mid-on, and in the next over, his uppish flick off van Meekeren landed just in front of Pringle again at short fine leg.
<span style="color: rgb(34,34,34);background-color: rgb(255,255,255);font-size: 15px;font-family: Verdana, BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;">Post-Powerplay, with Virat Kohli struggling to find boundaries, Rohit Sharma cut loose by pulling Logan van Beek for a six over wide long-on. Luck again fell in his favour as he successfully survived an lbw appeal on the very next ball.
<span style="color: rgb(34,34,34);background-color: rgb(255,255,255);font-size: 15px;font-family: Verdana, BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;">From there, Rohit found his groove, uppishly cutting Bas de Leede through backward point for four, followed by a six through top-edge off the pull for successive boundaries in the tenth over.
<span style="color: rgb(34,34,34);background-color: rgb(255,255,255);font-size: 15px;font-family: Verdana, BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;">Rohit then hit Pringle for back-to-back fours through leg-side to get his fifty in 35 balls. But in the next over, he was caught at deep mid-wicket off Klaassen while swiping across the line.
<span style="color: rgb(34,34,34);background-color: rgb(255,255,255);font-size: 15px;font-family: Verdana, BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;">Suryakumar’s arrival opened the floodgates for India, using the crease well and showing his impeccable wrist work to hit three fours in his first seven balls. He upped the ante against de Leede in the 16th over, striking him for successive fours through the off-side.
<span style="color: rgb(34,34,34);background-color: rgb(255,255,255);font-size: 15px;font-family: Verdana, BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;">Kohli also joined the boundary party by heaving de Leede over short fine leg and then lofted Klaassen over mid-off for four more in the 17th over. He then enthralled the crowd with a superbly timed loft over extra cover for six and bring up his second fifty on the trot in 37 balls.
<span style="color: rgb(34,34,34);background-color: rgb(255,255,255);font-size: 15px;font-family: Verdana, BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;">Suryakumar carved two more delightful boundaries before ending the innings with a beautifully flicked six over deep backward square leg off Logan van Beek to get his fifty in 25 balls and walk off the field unbeaten with Kohli by his side while holding their arms aloft as India got 112 runs off the last ten overs.
<span style="color: rgb(34,34,34);background-color: rgb(255,255,255);font-size: 15px;font-family: Verdana, BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;">Brief scores: India 179/2 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 62 not out, Rohit Sharma 53; Paul van Meekeren 1/32, Fred Klaassen 1/33) against Netherlands.&nbsp;
—IANS

Captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav hit half-centuries in propelling India to a challenging 179/2 against the Netherlands in their second Group 2 match in Super 12s of Men’s T20 World Cup at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday.

 T20 World Cup: Rohit, Virat, Suryakumar hit fifties, propel India to 179/2 against the Netherlands

Adelaide (The Hawk): During Wednesday's Super 12 encounter between India and Bangladesh at the Adelaide Oval, Virat Kohli passed Chris Lynn as the top run-scorer in men's T20 World Cup cricket.
When he scored 16 runs, surpassing Mahela Jayawardene's previous record of 1016 runs, Kohli passed the landmark. The most fifty-scores in T20 World Cups go to Kohli, the top run-scorer in T20 Internationals. In 23 innings, Kohli reached the milestone, and in T20 World Cups, he presently averages close to 90.
In the T20 World Cup in 2012, Kohli scored 185 runs. He finished first in the competition in 2014 and second in 2016. In 2014 and 2016, Kohli won Player of the Tournament.
In this match against Bangladesh, Kohli scored a 64-ball unbroken run as India gave Bangladesh a 185-point target.
In the 2022 T20 World Cup, Kohli has been in excellent form, scoring two fifty-run innings, including an incredible 82 against Pakistan in Melbourne.
The second-highest run-scorer in T20 World Cups and T20Is among active cricketers is Rohit Sharma, the captain of India.
(Inputs from Agencies)

During Wednesday's Super 12 encounter between India and Bangladesh at the Adelaide Oval, Virat Kohli passed Chris Lynn as the top run-scorer in men's T20 World Cup cricket.

The Hawk

Tag : Kohli

ICC Review: Watson Rates Kohli Ahead Of Smith, Williamson, Root And Babar Among Big 5 Test Batters

Sunil Aswal

Tag : Kohli

ICC Review: Watson Rates Kohli Ahead Of Smith, Williamson, Root And Babar Among Big 5 Test Batters

Sunil Aswal

More about Kohli