Virat Kohli showed a glimpse of his form when he made a brilliant 89 against Australia in the 2nd ODI of the three-match series in Sydney. However, the stiff 390-run target proved to be too much for India, as they lost the match by 51 runs and the series as well.
India had lost the first ODI by 66 runs at SCG as well and this means the third ODI at Canberra on December 2, becomes a dead rubber.
However, it didn’t mask the fact that Kohli, one of India’s batting mainstays in absence of Rohit Sharma, has not scored a century in ODIs in 2020. Kohli has scored four fifties in 8 ODIs in 2020 - but has not been able to convert it into a hundred.
Discussing Kohli’s missed centuries, former England captain Michael Vaughan said that he was not worried about the Indian captain’s batting, as once he gets a hundred, he will go on to get 3-4 more.
“The one thing I don’t worry about with Virat Kohli is his batting. There is no concern about his batting whatsoever. He is a wonderful player, he’s the best of the era across the formats, there is no doubts about that,” Vaughan said during a chat on Cricbuzz.
“I worry about those three Tests that India have without him. I don’t see India being able to win those Tests without the Virat Kohli factor. He is that important for that Test team. His 100s will come. Once he gets one, probably he would get 3-or-4 together, he’s that good.”
“His movements are great, his mindset and his eyes - you can see it when he’s really concentrated. He got out to that extraordinary catch at midwicket,” he added.
“In 24 innings, I have kind of seen Virat so closely, I never ever worry about his batting. He may get out, but he never ever looks out of touch. Some guys when they get out of touch look like they are batting with a toothpick, Virat Kohli has not got to the toothpick stage. His bat is about that wide,” Vaughan signed off.
In ODIs, Virat has played 250 matches, scoring 11977 runs at an average of 59.29 and a strike-rate of 93.32. He has 43 centuries and 59 half-centuries to his name with the highest score being 183. He has hit 1125 fours and 124 sixes in the format as well.
