Highlights
- Virat Kohli ended with 49* off 28 deliveries in India's second T20I against South Africa
- Virat became the first Indian player to cross 11000 mark in T20 cricket history
- Kohli's highest score in T20Is is 122* which came against Afghanistan in the form of his 71st ton
IND vs SA, 2nd T20I: Ahead of the all-important World Cup that will be played in Australia from October 16, 2022, the Indian contingency has various issues to address, especially their mediocre bowling and lackluster fielding. Amidst everything going around, Rohit Sharma and co. will feel confident about their batting prowess, especially with Virat Kohli returning to form. Prior to the Asia Cup, Virat found himself in a whirlwind of criticism. Fans and experts from all corners were skeptical about Virat keeping his place in the World Cup squad.
Legends certainly don't stay down for too long and this is exactly what the former Indian captain has shown in recent times. When Kohli hit a bad patch, many advised him to go back to domestic cricket and work on various facets of his batting, an art form that has made him the icon that he is. Virat was unable to score a ton for over 1000 days, but he certainly maintained his average across all formats of the game. At one point in time, the Royal Challengers Bangalore stalwart opened up on how he was not feeling good about the game and was faking his attitude on the field. Come to the 2022 edition of the Asia Cup that was played in the T20I format, things changed and they changed for good. Ending a miserable drought of over 1020 days, the former Indian skipper scored his 71st century against Afghanistan and sent out a statement that there was more to him than what people thought. Since then, Virat hasn't looked back and he has continued to grow and up the ante as far as his batting is concerned.
ALSO READ | Decoding Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav's record-breaking partnership
Team India, especially after the 2021 edition of the ICC T20 World Cup was heavily criticized for their mediocre batting and their traditional way of approaching the format. With Rohit Sharma leading the side and Rahul Dravid at the helm of Indian cricket, the blue brigade completely altered their style of batting. Come the first T20I between India and England that was played on July 7, 2022, at the Rose Bowl, Southampton, the blue brigade adapted to an aggressive mode of batting and they have stuck to that ever since. Kohi hitting a purple patch has made the Indian batting look pretty dominant at the moment. The Indian batting lineup as of now looks like one of the strongest amongst all the competing sides in the T20 World Cup with Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli at their disposal.
Virat Kohli with a strike rate of 147.59 amassed a total of 276 runs in 5 matches of the Asia Cup. In the process, Virat smashed his first T20I hundred. Kohli was the second highest run-getter of the tournament and was just behind Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan who ended up with 281 runs. The former India captain has extended his stellar run in the ongoing series against South Africa too. With one encounter still left in this three-match T20I series against South Africa, Virat has scored a total of 52 runs at a strike rate of 140.54 with 7 boundaries and 1 six to his name. This certainly is a piece of good news for the blue brigade with Virat peaking just at the right time. When the Indian team board that flight to Australia on October 6, 2022, they certainly will feel good about their batting unit which has been firing constantly.
