Virat Kohli becomes first player to accumulate 500 runs against Pakistan in ICC events

Team India skipper Virat Kohli enjoys a fantastic record against Pakistan, with his performances helping the Indian team record wins in thrilling encounters.

Virat Kohli enjoys a fantastic record against Pakistan. (Image Credit: Twitter/@BCCI)
By Arnab Mukherji | Oct 24, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Team India skipper Virat Kohli has become the first player to accumulate 500 runs against Pakistan in ICC events. Kohli achieved this unique distinction following his performance in the Super 12 Group 1 encounter of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021. The 32-year-old reached the milestone after a personal score of 26, having been sent in to bat by Pakistan skipper Babar Azam who won the toss. Kohli had accumulated scores of 16, 9, 78, 22, 36, 107, 55, 81*, 5, 77 in clashes against India’s arch-rivals in ICC events previously.

Kohli’s confidence ahead of encounter against Pakistan

Kohli’s performance in the ongoing encounter is nothing but an extension of the confidence which was visible in his statements before the encounter against Pakistan, in an interaction with the press.

“I am not going to reveal the playing 11 but we have a very balanced squad. Hardik Pandya is likely to bowl at some point of the tournament, it gives lots of balance and he is improving day by day. I believe the quality of pitches is going to be far better in the World Cup, dew factor will be there. There is no special strategy for the game again Pakistan and playing XI would be according to the situation. We’ve played a tournament like IPL where there are very good teams, we play regularly week in week out. Multi nation events also give us new challenges. But there also needs to be communication with players regarding workload. All the people in the team are playing their roles to perfection and that gives us a lot of confidence heading into this tournament,” said Kohli.

The 32-year-old added that he has explained already why he is stepping away from the T20I captaincy and there is no point harping on it.

“I have already addressed the issue, no point in harping on it. I have explained myself very honestly. If people feel there is more to it, then I feel sorry for them,” stated Kohli.

India Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami.

Babar Azam wins toss, opts to field against Virat Kohli-led India

Babar has opted to field after winning the toss in the Super 12 Group 2 encounter of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021 against India. Azam will be certainly happy having won a crucial toss against arch-rivals Team India, but the Indian team is well capable of pulling off a triumph in any situation. Haider Ali is the player missing out from the 12 players who were announced by Pakistan as being in contention for a spot in the lineup.

Babar stated that his players will be looking to take early wickets and put pressure on the Indian batsmen.

“Will look to take early wickets and put pressure”

“We are going to bowl first. We’ll look to take early wickets and put pressure. Dew is also a factor. We have had good practice sessions and am confident about our preparations. Pakistan’s bowlers are known to trouble other teams but I am confident about our batting too. Haider Ali is left out,” he stated as quoted by Cricbuzz.





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