Virat Kohli and the discussions around his strike rate never get out of fashion, for every small to big cricketer has distinct views on his game.
Virat Kohli and the discussions around his strike rate never get out of fashion, for every small to big cricketer has distinct views on his game. Someone picks up the strike rate discourse and analyses every aspect, even when they are useless and inconsequential.
Mohammad Hafeez has discussed the same topic and again reiterated his point, stating Kohli slowed down significantly during the famous 49th ODI ton against South Africa in Kolkata. Mind you, Kohli equalled Sachin Tendulkar’s record of the most ODI centuries, paving the way for an above-par total on a tricky Eden deck.
Not that Mohammad Hafeez didn’t care about his personal milestones, but everyone can have their views, even though Hafeez didn’t take arduous batting conditions into account. That was nowhere near flat, but Kohli, as he always does, constructed his innings adeptly and helped India get into a commendable position.
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Later, Indian bowlers showed the importance of Kohli’s knock by dismantling the famed South African on a total less than Kohli’s individual score. Sometimes playing for milestones is not a bad thing, and Kohli definitely didn’t do anything wrong.
On the Club Prairie Fire Podcast, Mohammad Hafeez highlighted Kohli’s historic ton against South Africa in the World Cup 2023 to prove his agenda that Kohli was selfish for slowing down near the 100-run mark. He feels such knocks are unacceptable.
“No matter who is batting, your intention and way of playing should always be towards winning the game. But if someone is stopping himself not to play big shots in the 90s, I will never take it. After 95, if someone is taking five balls to get to his hundred and not thinking of hitting off those 3 or 4 balls, and if the intention gets changed after scoring a 100, why can’t I play the same shot on 95? So in that game (South Africa), Virat took a lot of balls to get to his 100 and he was not playing big shots.”
M.Hafeez accused V.Kohli of being a selfish player,He said whenever he goes on 90 or 95 he slowes down,he take maximum balls there and once he scores 100 then he start to accelerate which clearly tells his intentions#Kohli pic.twitter.com/77xDMAbq4q
— AbdurRehman🇵🇰 (@abdurrehman6925) June 20, 2024
Mohammad Hafeez might have felt it, but Kohli is the best-ever ODI batter and has a set pattern to bat, which has reaped ample success over the years. To blame Kohli for any ODI ton is not ideal, and Hafeez fetched ample criticism for voicing his opinions on the podcast.
While one section pointed out Hafeez’s career states, another section highlighted Kohli’s iconic knocks, defending their favourite player. Hafeez should have taken any other Kohli knock to prove his point, for his century was timely and nicely accumulated on a deck that wasn’t free-flowing at all.
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