Legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar recently compared star batter Virat Kohli with tennis legends Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
Kohli, during the second innings of the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia, etched his name in the history books as he struck his 30th century in the format, going past legendary Sir Don Bradman‘s tally of Test hundreds.
Kohli walked out to bat on the third day carrying the weight of four single-digit scores in his last five innings and a 16-month century drought. He last scored a century during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 semi-final against New Zealand.
However, he displayed a masterclass in strokeplay, marking his return to form with an unbeaten knock of 100 runs off 143 balls, laced with eight boundaries and two sixes.
His innings propelled India to a commanding position before skipper Jasprit Bumrah declared with a staggering 533-run lead. In response, Australia crumbled to 238 all out in the final session on day four.
Sunil Gavaskar praised Kohli for his brilliance and compared his recent struggles with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic’s occasional slumps.
“I said in commentary that Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal, they are title winners. But when they lose in the semi-finals of any tournament, people say that they are not in form. If anybody else makes it to the semis, they are praised,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
“Similarly, with Virat Kohli, because everybody is so used to him scoring so many hundreds quite regularly in international cricket. And when he doesn’t score a century, even if he is getting 70-80, which a lot of players will be happy to get, people say he is not scoring runs and is out of form.
“But then again, Indian fans, they’re greedy fans. They’re not going to be happy with their idol scoring only 60-70s. They want their icons, their idols, to score hundreds, and that is the reason there was this little talk about, ‘Oh, he hasn’t got a hundred since July 2023.’ July 2023 is just about a year ago.”
READ: Uncapped wicket-keeper added to England squad for New Zealand Tests
Fast bowler Marco Jansen took 7-13 as South Africa skittled Sri Lanka for just 42…
Former Pakistan cricket captain Shahid Afridi has voiced his strong support for the Pakistan Cricket…
The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Mohsin Naqvi, expressed strong dissatisfaction on Thursday…
BULAWAYO: Kamran Ghulam struck his maiden ODI century to help Pakistan post 303-6 in the…
Uncapped all-rounder Beau Webster was on Thursday added to the Australia squad for next week's…
England captured the vital wicket of Kane Williamson for 93 in a dramatic five-wicket final…