Dubai: Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli admitted that his trademark cover drive puts him in a “catch-22” situation as it has been a weakness lately but playing the shot gives him control over the innings.
Kohli crafted a memorable unbeaten century against Pakistan, steering India to a six-wicket win. His 111-ball masterclass featured the cover drive prominently, a shot that has in recent time led to his downfall but remains a signature weapon in his arsenal.
“It’s a ‘catch-22’. I mean, it’s (cover drive) kind of been my weakness as well over the years, but I’ve scored a lot of runs on that shot,” Kohli said in a video posted by the BCCI.
“I think today was just about backing my shots and I think the first couple of boundaries I got were cover drives on the rise, so I really had to just let it go a little bit and take a bit of risk and follow through with my shots. Because when I hit that kind of shots, then I feel in control when I bat out there. So, it was a good innings for me personally and it was a great team win,” he added.
Delighted to contribute to India’s victory once again, Kohli, who became the fastest batter to complete 14,000 ODI runs, said his role at No. 3 has remained unchanged over the years -- minimising risk, stabilising the innings, and, when possible, finishing the chase.
“One thing that I’ve always thought of batting at three is to minimise risk and make sure that I put my team in a winning position and if you have a chance to finish off the game in a chase, obviously, that’s much better and I always preferred that kind of a situation. My role over the years has remained the same, whatever the demand of the game, I put my head down and try to do that,” he added.
Axar doing the math
As Kohli neared his century against Pakistan, India’s Axar Patel turned into a human calculator, crunching numbers and silently praying he didn’t edge the ball at the other end, all to make sure the superstar reached his milestone.
Axar walked in to bat with India needing 19 runs to win and Kohli unbeaten on 86. “At the end, even I was doing the math for his hundred towards the end). I was hoping that I don’t edge the ball or something. So, it was quite fun,” Axar said. At one point, Axar was even booed for taking a single, as fans wanted Kohli to get maximum strike.
With Kohli stranded on 96 and India needing just two runs to win, skipper Rohit Sharma cheekily gestured for him to finish the game with a six. Acknowledging the call, Kohli, instead of going for a maximum, elegantly drove the ball to the boundary to bring up his hundred in style. “It was the first time I got to watch a high-pressure game from the dressing room where Virat scored a century. I had a lot of fun, and the way he was running between the wickets after fielding for 50 overs is a testament to his fitness,” Axar added.