Indian icon Virat Kohli has turned 35 as he celebrates his special day on 5th November 2023. The star batter is in action in India's 8th game in World Cup 2023 against South Africa. The two giants are locking horns at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata as they fight for a potential first spot in the points table. Kohli is looking to make a mark on his special day.
Notably, India's head coach Rahul Dravid was all in praise for Kohli as he called him the legend of the game. He stated that Kohli has set the benchmark for his generation of players. "Virat's a legend of the game, especially (in) this format of the game. I think all formats of the game, but particularly this one (50-over), I think his performance and the way he finishes games. The standard of his performance over the years has probably set a benchmark for his generation of cricketers," he said to ICC.
Ravichandran Ashwin also spoke on Kohli, stating that he has changed the DNA of Indian cricket thinking. "He has changed the DNA of thinking around Indian cricket. How one batsman needs to perceive and prepare for the game," Ashwin said.
Virat Kohli is playing his first ODI match on his birthday. Earlier he has played two International games on his special day but they were Test and T20Is. Kohli was part of the India vs South Africa Test match in 2015. The star batter made 1 and 29 runs in that match. He played a T20I game on 5th November 2021 when India were playing the T20 World Cup. He was then part of India's win over Scotland in the tournament.
India's Playing XI vs South Africa:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
South Africa's Playing XI vs India:
Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
