IND vs NZ: India's star batter Virat Kohli was seen visiting the Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain just a day before the third ODI against New Zealand. He has been in sublime form for the last few years and has performed consistently in the ongoing series, as he scored 93 runs in the first ODI.
Now that the series is leveled at 1-1 after New Zealand won the second match, Kohli visited the temple before the third match, which will be held at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Sunday. A video had gone viral on social media where Kohli is seen visiting the temple along with the priest and also chanted ‘Jai Shree Mahakal’.
Watch the video here:
At the same time, Kohli has been at his absolute best, and on the back of this form, he has become the No.1 ODI batter for the first time since 2021. He surpassed Rohit Sharma after his match-winning knock in the first match against New Zealand.
This is the 11th time that Kohli has become the No.1 ODI batter on the back of some brilliant performances. He has smashed more than fifty runs in the last six innings. He has scored 492 runs in the last six matches at a staggering average of 123 and a strike rate of 107.18.
He recently scored 23, 93, 135, 102, and 65 in the series against South Africa in November and December, and also an unbeaten 74 against Australia in the third ODI.
On the back of his brilliant form, Kohli is now the No.1 ODI batter with 785 rating points. He first became the No.1 batter in 2013 and retained that position for 825 days, which is the most by an Indian batter.
However, he failed to perform in the second ODI against the Kiwis, scoring 23 runs off 29 balls, and Kristian Clarke took his wicket. He had smashed two fours in his knock but then got out by a peachy delivery.
Since the series is online, all eyes will be on Kohli to perform well in Indore. He will next play for India in June this year.