• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

Pakistan's star all-rounder Shadab Khan has praised Virat Kohli while recalling his memorable innings against them in the T20 World Cup at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Kohli played an incredible unbeaten innings of 82 runs off 53 balls with six fours and four sixes, helping India win the match by four wickets.

The former Indian captain, during that innings, played a marvelous shot down the ground off Haris Rauf in the penultimate over of India’s run-chase. That shot remains one of the iconic ones and is lauded till date as Shadab admitted that no other batter would have been able to play the kind of knock that Kohli played that day.

 

ALSO READ: Neeraj Chopra Finishes As Runner-up In Zurich With Best Throw Of 85.71m

 

Shadab shared his opinions ahead of his team's second match in the tournament against arch-rivals India in Pallekele.

“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. But how you read each other’s minds, the bowler and the batsman, how they read each other’s minds, and it also depends on what the situation is," Shadab was quoted as saying during an exclusive conversation with Star Sports.

“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 added.

 

Shaheen Afridi Issues Warning To Trouble Indian Openers

Kohli remains one of the top priorities for the Pakistani bowlers to get rid of as soon as possible along with skipper Rohit Sharma at the top order as well.

The leading pacer Shahen Afridi will have the job to do with the new ball early in the innings as he issues a stern warning to Rohit Sharma and Co. ahead of the match.

“In my opinion, my game plan is simple, every opener knows my game plan. The goal is to, as always, get the openers out to put pressure on the batting team. The middle order when they come in are not used to playing against the new ball as much as an opener. So there is a lot of pressure on the middle order to face the new ball," Shaheen said.

Sri Lanka's Pallekele International Stadium in Kandy is set to witness a high-voltage clash between the two great ambassadors of the game.

 

ALSO READ: Virat Kohli Hails Pakistan's Bowling Ahead Of Exciting Clash

 

The much-anticipated India-Pakistan will be played on Saturday, September 2 which is a group A fixture of the continental championship where Babar Azam's side would be aware of the Kohli threat.

Kohli has a brilliant record against one of his favorite opponents, having scored four half-centuries in the last five games against them.