Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram sided with under-fire Virat Kohli, who was criticised for “playing for his century” in the India-Bangladesh World Cup 2023 match.
Kohli scored his 48th ODI ton in the seven-wicket win over Bangladesh. This is his third World Cup century and his first since 2015. He scored his first 100 points back in 2011 in the quadrennial competition against the same opponent. As India inches closer to Bangladesh’s target of 257, Kohli finds himself in a difficult equation. The number of runs required for his century was almost the same as India’s victory.
In an interesting passage of play, Kohli and his partner KL Rahul were denied singles to allow the former to reach 100. Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed bowled 39 overs and India needed 19 runs to win, with Kohli also scoring heavily. Kohli smashed the first ball to the boundary and played a point on the following delivery. He pushed the third ball into deep cover point, but despite being offered a run, the duo chose not to run. Kohli made the most of it with an extra-base sweep on the next ball, followed by a single on the last ball to keep it for strike.
However, he received a lot of criticism for turning down singles as many on social media claimed that he was playing for the century. He was eight strokes away from winning his World Cup hundred and India, but he hit two quick doubles in the 41st over. Kohli played a complete innings for Bangladesh and still looked fresh despite reaching the crease in the 13th over. The legendary Akram praised the star batsman and said there was nothing wrong with this tactic.
Akram said on A Sports’ The Pavilion: “He played the first 50 overs and then in the 90 overs of the game he hit two consecutive twos. It shows his fitness and it shows that this guy is from another planet. They won fairly easily, but if a batsman has a chance of making a century, leave it alone. They played with the bowlers and had fun batting. When Kohli came into bat, Once we got started, it was just a matter of time.”
Kohli did not miss Akram’s praise for the star batsman’s stamina. “He had 92. And after batting 50 overs, he fought and got it done. It shows extraordinary fitness.”
Kohli, who scored 97, reached the milestone with a stunning six off Nasum Ahmed in the 42nd over, ensuring India’s fourth straight victory in the 2023 World Cup.
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