Highlights
- This is Virat Kohli's 100th T20I match
- Virat Kohli is the first Indian player to play 100 games in each format
- Virat Kohli has never led India in Asia Cup
IND vs PAK: A big cricketing day is at our disposal, where the clash will be high-voltage, emotions will run high, tempers will flare and social media will see batters in abundance. India vs Pakistan, the clash of blue and green. When both these two teams last clashed, the result did not go in India's favor. Ending India's dominant run in the World Cups, Babar Azam, and co. defeated Kohli-led team India in the 2021 ICC World Cup. With Virat going through a bad patch for the past few years and struggling to get runs, it will be interesting to see how he goes in the Asia Cup. A huge chunk of this marquee clash has been built around the Babar-Virat clash. Kohli, who has been this invincible batter of the past decade, and Babar who is challenging his throne and is leaving no stone unturned to solidify his claim.
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Virat and Pakistan's relationship goes way back. The Indian batsman whose highest ODI score is 183, came against Pakistan in 2012 when India clashed against them in the 5th match of the Asia Cup. In recent times Virat had to face a lot of flak for his regular breaks that the BCCI had extended to him to manage his workload. Kohli last played a white-ball series against England and gave the West Indies and Zimbabwe trip a miss. Surprisingly, Kohli has never captained India in Asia Cups. India is the defending champions for this year's Asia Cup but it was India's current skipper Rohit Sharma who as a stand-in captain won the Asia cup in 2018. Till this time Virat has been on a different level as far as the Asia Cups go he has enjoyed a splendid run. But this is the very first time that Kohli is in a bad patch as he walks into the multi-nation cricketing event.
Here is a look at Virat Kohli's history in the Asia Cup:
2010: Young Virat enters the Asian arena
Only 2 years into international cricket and riding high on the success of the 2008 ICC U-19 World Cup, Virat Kohli debuted in Asia Cup. Since the very start, he was like this blue-eyed boy of Indian cricket. Not very pleasing to the eyes, but certainly someone who promised great heights. Kohli played 4 innings and scored just 67 runs against the likes of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Virat scored these runs at an average of 16.7 and had a rather forgettable tournament. India won the tournament
2012: Early glimpses of greatness
By the time India turned up for the 2012 Asia Cup, they had already been crowned as the One Day Internationals world champions and were touted as the favorites to win the trophy. Before this, Virat had won the legendary Hobart ODI and was looking like the next big thing in Indian cricket. In the 5th match of the Asia Cup, Kohli scored a sublime 183 while India was chasing down 330 against their arch-rivals. This to date remains the former Indian captain's highest ODI score. Kohli amassed a total of 357 runs in 3 innings at a staggering average of 113 runs. India did not win the tournament
2014: Cementing the legacy
The year of drought, the year that played an instrumental role in transforming Virat Kohli. But before the traumatizing Test series came Virat Kohli's way, he had already become this phenomenal player who was scoring runs for fun and hammering the opposition at will. The permanent number 3 for India, Kohli scored 189 runs in 3 innings at a decent average of 63. India did not win the tournament
2016: Enter the King
This calendar year, this one specific calendar year will certainly be bookmarked in Virat's life and career. This was the year when the former Indian skipper just dethroned everybody and claimed the title of King on the World stage. Virat looked invincible and never looked like he could be dismissed. This particular edition of the Asia Cup was played in the T20I format as a dress rehearsal for the 2016 ICC T20I World Cup. Virat Kohli scored 766 runs in 14 innings at an average of 63.8. India ended up winning the tournament.
2022: The conundrum of present times
This time around, Kohli is in a tricky place. He recently opened up about how cricket was wearing him down and how at times he was trying to fake his intensity on the field. With over 2 years without any international century across formats, Virat's fate hangs in the balance and his bat will have to do all the talking, just replicating how he used to celebrate his tons.
