New Delhi: Star batter Virat Kohli, who has been the mainstay of India's batting line-up having amassed 354 runs in five outings at an average of 118, was seen sharpening his bowling skills during a net session on Thursday ahead of the team's next match against England in Lucknow on Sunday.
Kohli surprisingly stepped up to finish off injured Hardik Pandya's over during the World Cup clash against Bangladesh. Not only Kohli but many other batters were seen bowling in the nets. Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav also bowled a few deliveries as well.
Also read: Virat Kohli and his 'love affair' with run-chases!
Kohli's move came despite the bowlers' sterling performance by regulars such as Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav. Kohli has been in outstanding form in the ODI World Cup, though he seems to be not happy with limiting himself to just his batting. Thursday's net session saw him honing his bowling skills for a good while.
Kohli's images of bowling to opener Shubman Gill went viral on social media in no time. So far, India continues to lead the table with five impressive victories. Kohli, who played a stellar role with a century and three half-centuries, is second in the top run-scorers list in this year's competition.
Only Quinton de Kock of South Africa is ahead of him by 53 runs. The former captain Kohli is now just one century away from matching his illustrious ex-teammate Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI hundreds.
During the team's game against New Zealand, he fell tantalisingly short of this milestone with an individual score of 95. Kohli has recently said his mantra has consistently been to pursue improvement rather than perfection.
"Only bettering myself each day with every game in every practice session, every year, and every season has been my forte. So, that is what has helped me play for this long and perform," Kohli said in an interview with Star Sports.
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Virat Kohli bowling to Shubman Gill in the nets. pic.twitter.com/jBeLgAx9OV
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 26, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">Virat Kohli bowling to Shubman Gill in the nets. pic.twitter.com/jBeLgAx9OV
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 26, 2023Virat Kohli bowling to Shubman Gill in the nets. pic.twitter.com/jBeLgAx9OV
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 26, 2023
According to Kohli, shaping the mindset paved the way for coming up renewed in each game has been his strength. "If performance is your goal, then one can get satisfied after a while and stop working on their game." Meanwhile, the Indian Cricket Team reached Lucknow on Wednesday to play their sixth match of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup. Rohit Sharma-led 'Men in Blue' are coming into this full confidence as they are still unbeaten in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023.
The team sits atop the points chart with 10 points and has a net run rate of +1.353. In India's previous encounter against New Zealand, Rohit Sharma's side was off to a good start, reducing New Zealand to 19/2 in powerplay.
But a partnership of 159 runs between Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra (75 in 87 balls, with six fours and a six) helped NZ come back in the game. However, India made a comeback in later stages, bundling out Kiwis for 273 runs in 50 overs.
In the run chase of 274, India started off well with a 71-run opening stand between skipper Rohit Sharma (46 in 40 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) and Shubman Gill (26 in 31 balls, with five fours). India did lose Shreyas Iyer (33), KL Rahul (27) and Suryakumar Yadav, but Virat Kohli (95* in 104 balls, with eight fours and two sixes) and Ravindra Jadeja (39* in 44 balls, three fours and a six) guided India to a four-wicket win with two overs to spare.
