Pakistan vice-captain Shadab Khan lauds Virat Kohli for his incredible knock against the Shaheens last year.
Pakistani all-rounder Shadab Khan acknowledged the pain of the team's loss to India in the T20 World Cup last year as the two teams prepare to reignite their rivalry at the Asia Cup 2023.
The Pakistan vice-captain gave Virat Kohli props for his clutch knock against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup last year. Kohli went unbeaten on 82 off 53 balls, with six fours and four sixes, as India won by four wickets.
Kohli loves playing against Pakistan
Virat Kohli has a prolific record against Pakistan, scoring 536 runs from 13 innings at an average of 48.23. His record in T20Is is even better, with 488 runs from 10 innings at an average of 81.33.
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Kohli clearly enjoys playing against Pakistan and seems to relish the challenge of facing their bowlers. Kohli has played some of his best knocks against Pakistan, like his career-high 183* in the 2012 Asia Cup and the most legendary of them all, the unbeaten 82 in last year's T20 World Cup.
Virat Kohli’s spectacular innings against Pakistan earned him high praise from all corners of the world 🔥
— ICC (@ICC) October 24, 2022
A look at all the social media attention 👇https://t.co/e31A34rXIG
Kohli has played some incredible innings in his career, but none were better than his knock at the MCG. India were chasing 160 to win, and they were in trouble at 31 for 4 when Kohli decided to take matters into his own hands.
The six that Kohli hammered down the ground off Haris Rauf in the penultimate over of India's run-chase is widely regarded as one of the most memorable moments world cricket has witnessed in recent years.
In the one-day format of the Asia Cup, Kohli has participated in three matches against Pakistan. During these encounters, the ex-India captain managed to accumulate a total of 206 runs, maintaining a remarkable average of 68.66.
Shadab Khan on Virat Kohli
“He is a world-class player, definitely. You have to plan a lot to face him. Anyway, in international cricket, there are a lot of mind games, because you definitely have the skill to reach that level,” Shadab said.
“But how you read each other's minds, the bowler and the batter, how they read each other's minds, and it also depends on what the situation is,” the 24-year-old continued.
“The kind of batsman that Virat Kohli is, the way he has performed against us, even in the last match at the World Cup, I don't think that if any other batsman in the world was in that situation, could have done that to our bowling line-up.”
“And the beauty of it is that he can do this at any stage and at any time,” he concluded.
