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Virat Kohli is having is best ever World Cup campaign, albeit being two runs shy of statistically gaining that feat achieved in 2019 (443 runs). He already has a hundred to his name, an unbeaten 103 against Bangladesh in Pune, while also notching up four fifties, in three of which he missed out on a ton by less than 15 runs, as India continue their unbeaten run at home in the 2023 edition. But the highlight of Kohli’s sensational run has been the former India captain standing just a century short of levelling Sachin Tendulkar’s greatest ever feat of 49 tons in ODI cricket. As Kohli continues to chase history, Australia legend Matthew Hayden made a “masterclass” remark comparing this moment in the former’s career with that of Sachin.
On Thursday evening, the stage looked set for Kohli to have his name beside his idol at the top of the ODI chart. He revived India after their lost their skipper Rohit Sharma in the second ball of the match against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede, stitching a 189-run stand alongside Shubman Gill, but was undone by a slower delivery from Dilshan Madushanka when he was on 88.
Despite the missed opportunity, Hayden, in conversation with ESPNCricinfo, was full of praise for Kohli, reckoning that the star India batter is an epitome for budding cricketers across the globe, let alone India. He also further explained how Kohli stands out from the lot of modern cricketers with his simple plan of relying on strokeplay than on power.
“He epitomises for young kids watching the game and those playing on the streets in India. What is great about him in the way he holds his shape, trusts his abilities and doesn’t overhit the ball. Modern players always seem to favour power over their ability just to be able to strike the ball. And Wankhede is a relatively tricky wicket to bat on, but once you get in, you can never get out, but it kind of requires a special skill to think through the innings as well. Kohli understood his role that he just needs to get through the powerplay and continue with just good strokeplay,” he said.
The former World Cup-winning player then urged world cricket to savour this moment in Kohli’s career as he drew an emotional comparison with Tendulkar.
“It is a masterclass watching Kohli and such a treat…we shouldn’t take this period of Kohli’s career for granted because in a blink of an eye, like we discuss about Tendulkar, he will be gone. So it is a great moment to keep savouring Virat Kohli aat his absolute peak,” he said.
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