India’s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill lavished praise on Virat Kohli after the senior batter’s stylish knock in the first ODI against New Zealand at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara. Kohli scored a fluent 93 and was named Player of the Match for his effort, even though he narrowly missed out on a century.
Coming into the game on the back of two consecutive hundreds against South Africa, Kohli once again made batting look effortless. Gill, who was leading India in an ODI at home for the first time, admitted that what Kohli does at the crease is difficult for others to copy.
“Right now, Kohli is making batting look easy. It’s not simple to start on these pitches, and it’s tough to replicate what he does. Hopefully, he keeps scoring runs,” Gill said during the post-match press conference.
Kohli becomes second highest run-getter in international cricket
India went on to beat New Zealand by four wickets to take a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Apart from his 93, Kohli also reached a major milestone during the match, becoming the second-highest run-scorer in international cricket.
The 37-year-old became the fastest batter to complete 28,000 international runs across formats. He reached the landmark in his 624th innings with a boundary off leg-spinner Adithya Ashok. By comparison, Sachin Tendulkar reached the mark in 644 innings, while Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara did so in 666 innings.
Kohli began the match with 27,975 international runs. Tendulkar remains the all-time leading run-scorer with 34,357 runs, while Sangakkara finished his career with 28,016 runs.
ALSO READ: Virat Kohli shines, KL Rahul holds nerve as India clinch 1st ODI vs New Zealand
Why India featured with Siraj instead of Arshdeep Singh?
Gill admitted that Arshdeep performed well in the last series and Mohammed Siraj was not there, but the management wants to keep rotating players because there are fewer ODIs, which is why India featured with Siraj.
"Arshdeep did well last series, Siraj wasn't there, we want to keep rotating as there aren't that many ODIs" added Gill
Will Washington Sundar feature in 2nd ODI?
India all-rounder Washington Sundar got injured during the first innings of the first ODI against New Zealand. The spin bowling all-rounder left the field midway as Nitish Reddy came as his replacement. However, he came to bat alongside KL Rahul despite a niggle. When asked about his injury, Gill said that he has a side strain and will go for a scan after the match.