Legendary South African pacer Dale Steyn has hailed Virat Kohli for his fitness and dedication to cricket at the age of 37, stating that most people of his age would hate leaving home, their dog, and their kids.

Steyn’s words came after Virat Kohli smashed 135 runs with 11 fours and 7 sixes in the first ODI between India and South Africa in Ranchi’s JSCA Stadium on November 30. His ton and half-centuries by Rohit Sharma (57) and KL Rahul (60) helped India post 349/8 after being asked to bat first.

In response, though South Africa lost the first three wickets for 11 runs, half-centuries by Matthew Breetzke, Marco Jansen, and Corbin Bosch gave India a close run in the chase, as the Proteas lost by only 17 runs.

Speaking on the official broadcasters after the match, Dale Steyn spoke about Virat Kohli’s brilliant century, his 52nd in ODIs and 83rd in international cricket.

“When you speak to most 37- or 38-year-olds, they say they hate leaving home, their dog, and their kids. But he’s in a place mentally where he’s eager to be out there playing for India. You can see it when he’s running between the wickets, fielding, and diving. He’s mentally young, fresh, and wants to be here," Steyn was quoted as saying on JioStar.  

“He’s played over 300 ODIs in 15-16 years, so the experience is inside him. It’s in his body and mind. Even if he arrived here after three days of rain, it wouldn’t have affected his preparation. He’s mentally strong, visualizes well, and can see the ball onto the bat. That’s what the best in the world do. They back themselves because they’ve been out there so many times. A key thing he said is that he’s excited about playing," Steyn added.

In the same vein, Steyn was praiseful of Rohit Sharma as well, who scored 57 runs and added 100-plus runs for the second wicket with Virat Kohli.

Rohit Sharma also broke Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi’s record for most sixes of 351 in ODI cricket, with the ex-India captain now having 352 sixes to his name.  

“He batted beautifully. He gave one opportunity to Tony de Zorzi, which could have changed the situation, but he capitalized well afterward. He loves those cover drives and flicks, comes down the wicket when he wants to, and puts bowlers under pressure," the former South Africa pacer said.

“One particular shot summed up his innings for me: third man was up, point was up, and he just guided the ball delicately past short third man for four. It caught everyone off guard. He was reading the game superbly. He’s a fantastic batter. I love watching him, even though I never got him out," Steyn added.

(PTI inputs)