Former India cricketer drops bombshell on Virat Kohli, compares him to an ‘old tractor’ | Cricket News – The Times of India

Former India cricketer Varun Aaron praised Virat Kohli‘s match-winning innings of 74 not out in India’s third ODI victory against Australia in Sydney on October 25. After India bowled out Australia for 236, Kohli partnered with Rohit Sharma in an unbeaten 168-run stand to chase down the target with nine wickets and 69 balls remaining, securing India’s lone win in the three-match series.The chase saw Kohli bounce back from two consecutive ducks in the previous matches of the series. He started his innings by taking a single off his first ball and went on to hit seven boundaries during his 81-ball stay at the crease.

Rohit Sharma supported Kohli with an unbeaten 121 off 125 deliveries as the duo steered India to a comfortable victory. The partnership demonstrated their ability to control the chase and maintain a steady scoring rate throughout.“Virat Kohli is like one of those old tractors. It just needs a little fire to start. It doesn’t start on a normal ignition. When Virat has some fire burning in him, you set Virat loose to chase down a target, this is what he gives you. Chanceless batting,” Aaron said during an interaction on Star Sports’ ‘Follow the Blues.’“The over from (Josh) Hazlewood was where he got going. He got that one run, acted like he had got a hundred because it means a lot to him. Even now when he turns up for India, he wants to win games for India, wants to score hundreds and fifties. Most fifties by an Indian in a winning cause. So the records just keep tumbling when Rohit (Sharma) and Kohli bat,” Aaron elaborated.Former India wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel highlighted Kohli’s patient approach to regain his form after two consecutive zeroes in the series.“Virat was coming after scoring two zeroes. The kind of batter he is, you want him to score runs because the fans love him a lot. All of us know the kind of quality he has. If you respect time, time respects you,” Patel said on the show.“Virat did that only. He spent some time on the ground. He allowed the ball to come to him. He didn’t look too rushed. We see skillful shots in any case, but once he had spent 10-15 minutes, we saw the autopilot mode in Virat’s batting,” Parthiv observed.Kohli’s innings showed his trademark style of building an innings gradually. He struck three fours in his first 16 deliveries before focusing on rotating the strike through singles and doubles. His next boundary came after facing 49 deliveries, demonstrating his measured approach to the chase.The victory marked India’s first win in the three-match ODI series against Australia, with Kohli’s return to form and partnership with Rohit Sharma proving crucial in achieving the target of 237 runs.