Virat Kohli is a world class player, you've to plan alot against a player like him"- Shadab Khan
Pakistan would be aware of the Kohli threat – he has scored four half-centuries in the last five games against them.
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Virat Kohli particularly enjoys scoring against Pakistan. With 536 runs in 13 innings, Kohli's batting average is an impressive 48.23. In T20Is, it increases to 488 runs from 10 innings at an extraordinary average of 81.33 runs per innings.
Some of Kohli's greatest innings of his career have come against Pakistan, including his career-best 183 not out at the 2012 Asia Cup and his most epic innings, an unbeaten 82 at the T20 World Cup last year. Kohli's career can be defined by numerous outstanding knocks, but none will surpass his performance at the MCG, which helped India snare victory from the jaws of defeat. India were in disarray at 31/4 with 160 to win when Kohli decided to play the innings of his life.
Shadab Khan reopened old wounds from that T20I as India and Pakistan meet for the first time since that unforgettable Melbourne match at the Asia Cup 2023 on Saturday. Kohli's consecutive sixes off Haris Rauf flung the game open when India needed 28 to win off eight balls, and India went on to win a last-ball thriller.
Kohli believed for years that his innings of 82 not out against Australia in the quarterfinal of the 2016 World T20 was his finest, but on that night, a new contender emerged. Such knocks are as rare as an Ajit Agarkar century at Lord's, but Shadab, recalling the October match, believes that Kohli is capable of generating them at will.
"He is certainly a player of the highest caliber. You need extensive preparation to confront him. Regardless, there are a great deal of mental games in international cricket, because you have the skill to attain that level. But how the bowler and batter read each other's minds depends on the circumstance, as Shadab stated on the Star Sports program 'Follow the Blues'.
"I don't believe that any other batsman in the world could have performed as well against our bowling line-up as Virat Kohli has against us, even in the final World Cup match. The beauty is that he can do this at any age or stage."
The objective would be for Pakistan's pace attack of Naseem Shah, Rauf, and Shaheen Afridi to dismiss the former India captain as soon as possible. Kohli has scored four half-centuries against Pakistan in the last five matches, so Pakistan would be cognizant of his threat.
This high-octane contest has been touted for years as India's batsmen versus Pakistan's bowlers, and riding on this trivia, Shaheen, who has made a career out of taking wickets in the first over, believes that success with the new ball will be crucial.
"In my opinion, my game plan is straightforward, and every initiate is aware of it. Always, the objective is to eliminate the openers to place pressure on the batting team. Middle order players are not as accustomed to competing against the new ball as openers. Therefore, there is a great deal of pressure on the middle order to confront the new ball,' he stated on the same program.
