Former South African skipper AB de Villiers has lavished praise on Virat Kohli’s new batting approach amid the ODI series against the West Indies. It has been observed in the last one year that Kohli has played with an aggressive approach and has looked to take the attack to the bowlers from the get-go.
Kohli scored a magnificent knock of 139 runs off just 88 balls with the help of 10 fours and nine sixes at a strike rate of 157.95 in the series opener against the West Indies on Sunday. He added 151 runs with skipper Shubman Gill to put in a commanding position in the run-chase of 296.
The veteran also became the second batter after Sachin Tendulkar to complete 15000 ODI runs and he got to the milestone in 74 innings quicker than the Master Blaster. This was Kohli’s 55th ODI century and his 86th International ton.
On Wednesday, Kohli was dismissed after scoring 29 runs off 19 balls in the second ODI.
AB de Villiers said on his YouTube Channel, “It’s fantastic to see him bat this way, and it could not be happening at a better time, just prior to the World Cup. He’s the best ODI batter of all time, arguably, but in my opinion, definitely. He’s showing the other side as well, where he can be the aggressor. He seems to have consciously worked towards playing positively, knowing he’s at his best then. Overthinking things too much can be your downfall sometimes.”
“It feels like a third peak for him as he’s batting better than ever. This time around, his strike rate is up. His aggressive nature is something that really stands out. 139 off 88 is something we never used to see from Kohli in ODIs. He used to be a lot more reserved and an anchor for the Indian batting lineup, allowing everyone to bat around him.”
The former RCB batter reckons the rest of the Indian players will be boosted by Kohli’s dream form in the ODI World Cup.
“It just feels like Virat is free in his mind now. To have the main man, the greatest of all time, in the best form is going to be huge for India in the 2027 World Cup. The rest of the players will be boosted by him and go in with a lot of confidence. India have historically done well in ICC events in South Africa,” said De Villiers (via the aforementioned source).
The third ODI between India and the West Indies will be played at New Chandigarh on Saturday.
