Former England captain Michael Vaughan has a strong belief that Indian superstar cricketer Virat Kohli will help India win the World Cup 2023 to close out his illustrious career.
Vaughan made a bold Lionel Messi parallel with Virat Kohli, saying that how the Argentinian football was the best player in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar last year, and propelled his country to a football World Cup trophy, Virat Kohli too, Vaughan reckons, is on a mission to secure India’s third ODI World Cup title.
Kohli has already started the tournament on a bumper note: Kohli is the second-highest run-scorer currently in World Cup 2023 with 354 runs in 5 innings at an average of 118. He has 3 fifties and one century in 5 knocks.
Virat Kohli in the chase, there’s no one better: Michael Vaughan
The 2005 Ashes-winning captain also hailed the success of Virat Kohli in run-chases. Kohli scored 85 runs against Australia, 55* against Afghanistan, 103* against Bangladesh, and 95 against New Zealand
Michael Vaughan said on Club Prairie Fire podcast: “Virat Kohli in the chase, there’s no one better. It wouldn’t surprise me if he gets a 49th before the final, and his 50th in the final. It’s written in the stars. I actually put it on social media – great, great players always arrive in World Cups. It defines their legacies. Look at the footballers, Lionel Messi had to win the World Cup for Argentina, and he did it. Virat has already won a World Cup but you just feel he’s going to drive the Indian team all the way.”
The 34-year-old Delhi batsman is the leading ODI run-scorer in winning run-chases: 5786 runs at an average of 90; out of his 27 hundreds batting second, 23 have ended up in a winning cause.
India are currently at the top of the points table with 5 wins in 5 games and are the only unbeaten team in the tournament. A semi-final spot is just around the corner. Vaughan reckons India are a machine that is unstoppable at the moment.
“I’d love to know how they (India) can be stopped. I can’t see at the minute. Yes, you can get early wickets. But the pitches aren’t going to do much. How are you going to get them 3-4 down quickly? Aussies were the closest to surprise them when they got 3 out early in Chennai, but I don’t see how anyone will get close to them,” added Vaughan.
