Following his century, former cricketer Irfan Pathan heaped praise on Kohli by saying that the right-handed batsman has scored runs under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, and Shubman Gill
Irfan Pathan (Pic: File Pic)
In the third ODI match against New Zealand, Team India stalwart Virat Kohli played a knock of 124 runs off 108 deliveries, including 10 boundaries and three maximums.
Despite his century, Team India suffered a loss by 41 runs at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.
Following his century, former cricketer Irfan Pathan heaped praise on Kohli by saying that the right-handed batsman has scored runs under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, and Shubman Gill.
"Virat Kohli once again showed why he is such a great player. Back in 2013, when I was also playing, people used to say Virat Kohli is the best batter in the Indian team currently. In 2016, people also used to call him the best batter in the Indian team. Now, 10 years later in 2026, people are still calling Virat Kohli the best batter in India's ODI side. There's no doubt about it. He scored runs under MS Dhoni's captaincy, under his own captaincy, under Rohit Sharma's captaincy, and now under young Shubman Gill's captaincy too," he said.
The former cricketer also hailed the Delhi-born cricketer for maintaining his fitness and labelled his century as "magnificent".
"Another 100 for Virat 'Run Machine' Kohli. When we saw Virat Kohli's fitness, the way he runs, there's absolutely no change in his fitness. In fact, it looks like he has only gotten better. He plays, scores runs and repeats. Unfortunately, the century came in the losing cause, but it was a magnificent century, nonetheless," added the 41-year-old former cricketer.
The ton also helped Kohli register his 85th century in international cricket. This was also his fourth century in the last eight ODI innings, including one in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT).
The "Men in Blue" also lost the three-match ODI series by 1-2 against the "Black Caps".
T20 World Cup 2026: First match's date and venue
Team India will now engage in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. The contest will also serve as the preparatory series for both teams ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026. The marquee tournament will kick off from February 7, with the first game scheduled to be played between Pakistan and the Netherlands at the Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground in Sri Lanka.
(With ANI Inputs)
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