Former cricketer VVS Laxman has lavished praise on Virat Kohli who recently breached the 12000-run mark in ODIs, saying the current Indian skipper has been able to play with the same intensity he used to when he made his debut in 2008.
Kohli on Wednesday became the fastest batsman to score 12,000 runs in One-Day Internationals. He reached the milestone in the third and final ODI of the three-match series against Australia at the Manuka Oval which India won by 13 runs.
The Indian skipper has taken 242 innings (251 matches) to score 12,000 ODI runs, 58 less than legendary Sachin Tendulkar who had reached the landmark in 300 ODI innings (309 matches).
“I think, the way he has played in each and every series, the kind of intensity he has maintained each and every day, when he’s on the cricket field is unbelievable, because at some stage I thought that will be the biggest challenge for Virat Kohli, at some stages he will burn out, but not even once we have seen that energy drop-down when Virat is on the cricket field, whether he is batting or he is fielding,” Laxman said while speaking on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.
Kohli has also played 86 Tests and 82 T20Is in which he has scored 7,240 and 2,794 runs respectively. In total, he has hit 70 centuries (27 in Tests and 43 in ODIs). Laxman said one of the great things about Kohli has been his ability to perform under pressure. The 32-year-old has scored 26 of his 42 ODI centuries while chasing.
“…if you see his one-day record how many hundred did he get while chasing and then you know that you’ve got a target to achieve, there’s always a scoreboard pressure on him, but he relishes pressure, he relishes responsibility and that’s what gets the best out of him,” said Laxman.
Having said that, 2020 turned out to be the only year since Kohli’s debut where he was unable to score a single hundred in ODIs.
Team India, who lost the ODI series 1-2, will now look to seek revenge against Australia in the three-match T20I series beginning Friday at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.
