Last Update on: November 12th, 2023 at 11:15 am
Backing Virat Kohli to score a world-record 50th ODI century in the ongoing World Cup, former India head coach Ravi Shastri has opened up about the star batter’s struggle to score centuries before regaining his form.
The phase from 2019 to 2022 was a tough one for the former India skipper as he constantly failed to reach the three-digit mark across the three formats. One of the most prolific century scorers in the history of international cricket, Virat Kohli did not score a single century from November 2019 to September 2022. He finally ended his century drought after more than 1000 days with his maiden T20I ton in the Asia Cup and has not looked back since.
The right-handed batsman is now on the verge of breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most ODI hundreds. He has already equaled Tendulkar’s tally of 49 hundred and is just one ton away from creating history. Virat Kohli scored his 49th hundred last Sunday during the World Cup match against South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Ravi Shastri backs Virat Kohli to create history in World Cup:
With Virat Kohli just one century away from reaching 50 ODI centuries, Ravi Shastri has backed him to do it in the ongoing World Cup. The former India allrounder recently appeared on the Club Prairie Fire podcast where ex-England captain Michael Vaughan asked him if Virat Kohli could score the much-awaited century in the semifinal or the final of the World Cup if India makes it to the title decider.
In reply, Ravi Shastri said: “Absolutely. Maybe even before that. When such players get on a roll, you don’t know. They just start stringing hundreds for fun.”
Speaking further, he said: “He went through three years where he could not come close to a hundred, didn’t look like coming close to a hundred because of a combination of mental fatigue and things just not going right. The rub of the green not going your way.
“But the fact of the matter is right through that period, he never lost that drive which is the reason why he is doing so well today when he got the opportunity. You can see that hunger, you can see that look in his eyes which I saw from the first game of the World Cup which suggests to me that he is extremely determined,” added Shastri.
So good to have @RaviShastriOfc on @clubprairiefire https://t.co/VT4I8dPOgz
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) November 12, 2023
Virat Kohli is India’s leading run-scorer in the ongoing World Cup. In 8 games so far, he has scored 543 runs with the help of 2 centuries and 4 half-centuries. He will be in action next on Sunday (November 12) when India locks horns against the Netherlands in their final league game.
