As India took on Sri Lanka, marquee batter Virat Kohli put in another resounding display on the 22-yard strip but missed out on his 49th ODI century. Though Kohli fell a little short of reaching the triple-digit score, he didn’t fail to impress Pakistan legend Wasim Akram with his performance at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Akram, who has been working as a pundit since the start of the World Cup, lavished a big praise on Kohli, calling him ‘best in the world’ while also backing him to break Sachin Tendulkar‘s record of most ODI tons.
“Timely runs, because they lost their first wicket with just 4 runs on the board and that too in just the second ball of the match. And they lost their second wicket when India were at 193. Both have played very sensible innings. Virat scored 88 with the help of 11 fours. You see, experience matters. When wickets fell, they kept scoring five an over, four an over. Virat’s strike rate was 93 but once that partnership was done it was game over for Sri Lanka,” Akram said on A-Sports
“Looks at him, this guy is the best in the world. One or two centuries away from the half-century of centuries. Sachin Tendulkar ka record todega. I think usse bas ek dur rah gaya hai(Kohli will break Sachin Tendulkar’s record, is just one shy of his tally). Once he settles in, he just plays shots at his will against the spin, against the medium pace, against the fast bowlers. A complete batter, one of the best in the world,” Akram added.
In the match, India scored 357 runs but none of the batters reached a hundred. While Shubman Gill made 95, Kohli was dismissed on 88. Shreyas Iyer too looked on the cusp of his maiden World Cup hundred but was removed on 85.
“Three batters missed hundreds. He [Gill] batted really well. When you don’t score much in the last three matches, you have the desire to go and take the challenge. We can see that in this youngster, he loves to take challenges. He plays shots everywhere today from the start. After losing a wicket early, the partnership he put on with Kohli, the 189 runs was very useful for India,” Moin Khan, fellow pannelist on the show, said.
“The bowling was not great against them, but few shots were extraordinary. He has all the shots, and is not a one-dimensional player. That’s why he succeeded in the challenge to not throw away his wicket. But got out at the wrong time and missed the ton,” Moin further said.
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