Shahid Afridi reacts to Virat Kohli's brilliant innings against South Africa
Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi was impressed by Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s innings against South Africa in the second T20I match on Wednesday at Mohali.
The skippers sensational 72 runs innings saw the men in blue sail to 7 wickets victory. Virat scored 72 off 52 deliveries as team India obtained their target of 150 in 19 overs to lead the three match series 1-0.
Engrave by Virat Kohli’s exploits, Shahid Afridi deemed the Indian skipper ‘a great’ and wished him success for his future.
“Congratulations Kohli! You are a great player indeed, wish you continued success, keep entertaining cricket fans all around the world,” tweeted Afridi after the match.
Congratulations @imVkohli You are a great player indeed, wish you continued success, keep entertaining cricket fans all around the world. https://t.co/OoDmlEECcu
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) September 18, 2019
Shahid Afridi was responding to ICC’s tweet for Indian skipper in which the international cricket body appreciated Kohli accomplishing the record of averaging 50 plus score in all three formats of the game.
The Indian run machine now averages 53.14 in Test, 60.31 in ODIs and 50.85 in T20Is. This is the second instance where Kholi has attained this milestone. He averaged over fifty runs in all three formats last year.
India bowling unit led by Deepak Chahar who sculpted the win after limiting the Proteas to 149/5 in stipulated 20 overs. Virat Kohli then led the Indian batting, setting up an important 61 runs second wicket partnership along with Shikhar Dhawan, who scored 40 of 31 balls.
Shikhar Dhawan fell to a catch by David Miller at long-on with spinner Tabraiz Shamsi getting the headway. Debutant spinner Bjorn Fortuin then got the better of Rishabh Pant to reduce India to 104/3.
But Virat Kohli who went on to score his 22nd T20I half century in 71 matches, stood strong along with Shreyas Iyer as he hit the winning boundary. Kohli became the highest run scorer in T20Is with 2,441, while Rohit Sharma who was out for 12 has 2,434 from 91 matches.
First published: 19 September 2019, 11:53 IST