IIND vs PAK: Virat Kohli Is Sounding Scared Of Pakistani Bowlers – The two giants of Asian cricket will lock horns on Saturday at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy for their Group A match in the Asia Cup 2023 tournament.
This will be the first time the two teams will meet since their match in last year’s T20 World Cup at the MCG, where Virat Kohli played arguably the greatest T20 innings of all time.
Virat Kohli will be once again up against the Pakistani pace trio of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf. And, as usual, there will be a huge anticipation of how the superstar Indian batsman goes about his business against this threatening pace trio.
Ahead of the IND vs PAK clash in the Asia Cup 2023, Virat Kohli spoke about Pakistan’s bowling attack, which will be headed by Shaheen Afridi, the left-arm fast bowler who is hailed as the best new ball bowler in the world at the moment.
Speaking with Star Sports, the 34-year-old Indian batsman lavished praise on the Pakistani bowling attack – apart from the three fast bowlers, it includes leg-spinner Shadab Khan and left-arm orthodox Nawaz – and said he will have to be at his best to tackle the Pakistan bowling.
- “I feel bowling is their strength. And they’ve got some really impactful bowlers that can change the course of the game anytime based on their skill set. So you have to be at your absolute best to face them,” Virat Kohli told Star Sports.
- Virat Kohli’s numbers against Pakistan
Over the years, Kohli has been a thorn in the side of the Pakistan team, and he’s been India’s key man whenever the arch-rivals have met.
In 13 ODI innings vs Pakistan, Virat Kohli has scored 536 runs at an average of 48 with 2 centuries -183 in the Asia Cup 2012 in Mirpur and 107 in the 2015 WC in Adelaide – and 2 half-centuries.
Kohli has been in excellent form this year: in 9 ODI innings in 2023, he has amassed 427 runs at an average of 53 with 2 hundreds and 1 fifty, with a best of 166*.
While fans are excited for the match, rain gods can play spoilsport as Pallekele is forecasted to receive heavy showers on Saturday.
