Former India captain and maverick batter, Virat Kohli continues to push the run-scoring ceiling to unreachable heights. His recent masterclass against Bangladesh once again helped India register another win in the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia. Since coming back after taking a brief break, Kohli seems to have regained his lost mojo, and the way he is batting right now is absolutely marvelous. Kohli's knock of 82 not out in 53 balls against Pakistan will be indelibly edged in history.
Commenting on Kohli's masterclass against Pakistan, former Australia captain and batting legend Ricky Ponting said that he 'had a feeling he will pull something out of the hat'.
"Against Pakistan, with 8 balls, to go, I still had a feeling he will pull something out of the hat. And he did. A little moment like that can have a big impact on the team right throughout the tournament. India haven't been at their best yet, Virat has been very very good in a couple of games. He is now the leading run-scorer in the history of T20 World Cup and I think if India are to actually progress and go on to win, they need Virat there to be playing really well," Ponting told reporters.
The stylish Indian batter was fighting a tough spell where he struggled to score runs in a prolific manner which he has done right throughout his career. Ponting highlighted the importance of backing a player with Kohli's potential despite young cricketers coming up the ranks.
"When you come into big events like this, you need your experienced star players to stand at the big moments and make you win. That's what I said about Virat at the start. We saw that first game against Pakistan. I doubt if there is another player in that side that could have got them down the line at the end," Ponting continued
One issue which India had with all the cricket they have been playing, rotating players, giving highly talented young Indian players to play in the national team, more often than not they have taken their chances. With Virat not in the side and with all these young players making runs, it made it harder for India to sticking with him and picking him," he added.
Kohli has scored 220 runs with knocks of 82 not out, 62 not out, 12 and an unbeaten 64 in the ongoing T20 World Cup so far.
