Former Bengal and Royal Challengers Bengaluru wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami has said that while a lot of people thought that Virat Kohli’s international career was over after his twin ducks in Australia, the latter has shown his class by going on a run-scoring spree since then.
In Delhi’s opening Vijay Hazare Trophy game against Andhra Pradesh at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, Kohli struck a 131 off 101 deliveries, steering the chase of 299 to a win inside 38 overs.
In 50-over cricket, Kohli has notched up three hundreds and two half-centuries in his last five outings, including two centuries and a fifty in the ODI series against South Africa.
The rich run of form follows a lean patch in October, when Kohli suffered consecutive ducks in the three-match ODI series in Australia.
“With 2 back-to-back ducks in Australia, people thought Virat Kohli was over, but that’s the class of this man,” Goswami tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.
Kohli (131, 101 balls) was supported by Nitish Rana (77, 55b) and Priyansh Arya (74, 44b) as Delhi scaled down a challenging target of 299 in the 38th over.
Andhra Pradesh star Ricky Bhui struck a fine hundred (122 off 105 balls) to lift his side to 298/8 as well, but it proved a mere footnote once Kohli unleashed his brilliance.
Pacer Simarjeet Singh (5/54) also played a key role in Delhi’s victory over Andhra Pradesh with a tireless spell on a flat pitch. Kohli was in sublime touch from the outset, announcing himself with a crisp straight drive off India teammate Nitish Kumar Reddy off just the third delivery he faced.