Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull lavished praise on Virat Kohli for his record-entending 54th ODI ton. The century came in the series decider between India and New Zealand at Indore. For Virat, it was quite the bittersweet feeling as despite his classy knock, the Men in Blue lost the match by 42 runs and also got defeated in the series 2-1. This was the first time in history that the Black Caps registered an ODI series win in India and this was also the first time that the hosts got defeated at the Holkar stadium.
Virat becomes lone warrior for Team India
Despite the loss, Virat was praised by many as he was nothing short of a one-man army for India during the match. If it wasn't for his hundred, India would have been defeated in one-sided fashion. Doull described Virat's shot-selection as "crisp & clean", adding that bhis running between the wickets is still top-class. He further claimed that the veteran batter will go on to play international cricket for seven to eight more years as he is still one of the fitrtest players in the Indian team.
"Some of the shots were just crisp and clean. Beyond that, it's how he manoeuvres the field and how he runs between the wickets. There's still an air of youth about him. Despite his age and experience, he'd probably still be the fittest guy on that side. That's professionalism," Doull told JioHotstar.
"The willingness to keep trying to win games, to drag your team back into the contest when they're so far behind, and to run as hard as he does, for his own runs and for his teammates. There's so much to love about how he's playing at the moment. May he stick around in international cricket until he's 44 or 45 years old," he added.
Virat's red-hot international form
Virat has been in top form ever since he made his long return to international cricket in October. He has already registered three centuries and half-centuries each since making his comeback to Team India. This includes knocks of 135 and 102 against South Africa in December and the innings of 93 against New Zealand in the first ODI that played a crucial role in the Men in Blue's only victory of the series.
Not to mention that he was also sensational during his short stint with Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Virat only played two games for the team in the tournament, but recorded massive scores of 131 and 77 against Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat reespectively. His next international assignment will likely be India's three-match ODI series against England that will begin from July 14 later this year.