Former Indian captain Virat Kohli, who has been going through a lean patch for a very long time, looked to rediscover his lost mojo as he walked out to play his 100th T20I match against the arch-rivals Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022 game on Sunday.
Virat Kohli made everyone turn back the clock as he produced some classic trademarks shots however he holed out at long off against left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz.
Chasing a target of 148 runs, the Indian cricket team started the innings on the worst possible note as they lost KL Rahul for a duck in the very first over. After this Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma formed a partnership and added a 49-run stand. Before Mohammed Nawaz sent back Rohit and Virat in quick succession.
Former Indian cricketer and World Cup hero Gautam Gambhir have questioned Kohli’s dismissal, which reduced India to 53 for three in the 10th over. Gambhir feels that the kind of shot Kohli hit during that game would bring a lot of criticism to hit way. He said:
“He will be extremely disappointed because Rohit Sharma’s wicket had just fallen and after that if you play a shot like that, it is good a youngster did not play that shot. There would have been a lot of criticism if a youngster had played that kind of shot,”
He added: “I am sure the number of runs he has scored in international cricket, when he sees this shot he will tell himself that the shot was not required. You played 34 balls and scored 35 runs, your captain had just gotten out, if you had built your innings a little more, things might have become easier,”
Further, Gambhir described Kohli’s hit as a ‘nothing’ shot, especially when the batter is playing pacers in the T20 format. He said:
“It is T20 cricket, you think at times that you should back your instincts and you did that, but it is a frustrating shot because it was a nothing shot. If you were looking to hit a six and had gotten out, there is no problem with that, because you are trying to play a big shot.”
He added: “Here neither did you try to hit a six nor did you find a gap. Literally, it was a nothing shot, probably that is why he will be even more disappointed,”
