Former India batter Mohammad Kaif sounded a Virat Kohli warning for the Pakistani bowling unit ahead of their clash with India in the Asia Cup 2023. The two archrivals will clash in Kandy, Sri Lanka on September 2nd in the tournament which begins on August 30.
The last time Virat Kohli was up against Pakistan Virat Kohli played arguably the best T20I innings of all time, taking India to a win from a near-impossible situation in a T20 World Cup group stage match.
He destroyed the Pakistani attack consisting of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan, and Mohammad Nawaz on his way to a historic unbeaten 82 off 53 balls.
This diminished the horrors of the 2021 T20 World Cup somewhat when Shaheen Afridi and co. ran through the Indian top order and helped the Men in Green register their first-ever win over India in World Cups. Virat Kohli had shined in that match as well, scoring a valiant fifty.
However, Mohammad Kaif said that the Pakistani bowlers will have that Kohli knock in T20 World Cup 2022 on the back of their minds though this time the two sides will meet in the ODI format.
"Kohli's performance in Australia at the T20 World Cup, against Pakistan, he played magnificently. And he is a brilliant batsman when it comes to playing against Pakistan. He takes full responsibility and is a chase master. The form that he had in that World Cup was because of his performances in the Asia Cup (2022), starting from that century he hit against Afghanistan. He had a dry run before that, but after his performances in the Asia Cup, he did not stop, he won matches, even the match against Pakistan in Australia,” Kaif said on Star Sports.
"Those memories will still linger in the minds of the Pakistani bowlers. They will be wary of Kohli and know what a big wicket he is. They will know that if they get him out, the match becomes a lot easier. But the form he is in, the pressure will always be on the bowlers. And the fact that he has played the Pakistani bowlers in their last match at the T20 World Cup, he will know how every Pakistani bowler bowls, whether it is Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, or Haris Rauf. Kohli will know how to play them, he will know what their strengths and weaknesses are. Virat Kohli will be very dangerous against Pakistan," he added.
Virat Kohli is on the cusp of a few records in the ODI format as he needs 102 more runs to become the fastest to 13,000 runs in the format and just 4 centuries shy of becoming the first batter to reach 50 tons in the ODIs.
