Ravi Shastri praises Virat Kohli for scoring sensational century on a difficult pitch amid criticism of slow innings surfaces

Team India won their eighth consecutive 2023 World Cup match as they beat South Africa at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday, November 5. India, who had already booked a semi-berth, cemented the No.1 spot in the points table with 16 points. It is fair to say that the Men in Blue annihilated South Africa as they completely dominated to secure a 243-run win.

Advertisment

Virat Kohli was the centre of attraction before the match and he remained the same after the match as well. The former India captain, who celebrates his 35th birthday today, hit a century and gave his millions of fans a wonderful treat. Kohli equalled legendary Sachin Tendulkar's world record of 49 ODI centuries and several other feats en route to his 79th international ton. 

Kohli reached the milestone with a single off Kagiso Rabada in the 49th over and received a standing ovation from the crowd and teammates. Although his century proved crucial in taking India's team total to 326, his slow innings drew some criticism. Kohli scored 102 runs but it came off 121 balls. Many said that he should have scored a little more aggressively to increase the total, instead of playing a selfish innings.

However, former India head coach and commentator Ravi Shastri praised Kohli's innings and said that scoring a century on such a difficult track is not easy. “It was amazing and perfect innings from Virat Kohli in this pitch. The way pitch behaving it’s very difficult to score and the way Virat Kohli scored hundred was outstanding”. 

Advertisment

Scoring hundreds is a big obsession for us: Shastri 

Shastri also made a strong admission that India is a stats-obsessed country. He mentioned that Tendulkar had many sleepless nights while chasing Sunil Gavaskar's record of 34 Test centuries. 

"We are a country obsessed with records. Scoring hundreds is a big obsession for us. Sunil Gavaskar started it all. I remember when Sachin Tendulkar was chasing his 34th, it wasn’t easy. He had many sleepless nights, he used to get out in the 70s and 80s. It took him a while, just like it has taken Virat Kohli,” 

Advertisment

“Today, Virat played a very calculated innings. He started off quickly when the ball was coming onto the bat. And when the ball started dripping, it wasn’t easy to pick the bowlers. So, he soaked the pressure, took his time and scored his century.”