Mohammad Kaif believes Virat Kohli will score in India’s World Cup 2023 match against Afghanistan in Delhi, pointing out that the Arun Jaitley Stadium already has a stand named after him.
On Sunday (October 8), the Men in Blue overcame Australia by six wickets in their tournament opener in Chennai, with Kohli delivering a match-defining 85-run effort. On Wednesday, October 11, Rohit Sharma and his teammates will want to maintain their winning streak against Afghanistan.
During a talk on Star Sports, Kaif was questioned about his expectations from Virat Kohli, given that he will be playing at his home field, which has a batting-friendly surface, as witnessed lately by Sri Lanka and South Africa, both of whom scored more than 750 runs. He reacted with:
“If a batter scores runs in the first match and he is a player who if he has a good first match, you can check the history, then he doesn’t stop. He knows he has got form and will score consistently.”
Mohammad Kaif
The former Indian batter add:
“It is a home game for him. Fans will come with banners and shout his name. His name is already written in the stadium, so he does not need motivation. The form he is in, I feel the bowlers will have great difficulties on this pitch.”
Mohammad Kaif
The previous game in Delhi had a total of 754 runs scored. While South Africa scored 428/5, Sri Lanka scored 326 runs on a calm surface with small boundaries.
Sanjay Bangar Explains Why Virat Kohli Will Want to Score a Century in Delhi After His Chennai Failure
Sanjay Bangar was asked if Virat Kohli will try to get a century in Delhi after falling short in Chennai, to which he replied:
“The sort of expression he had after getting out, he knew he had done all the difficult work. Nearly 30 runs were required when he got out, and got out while playing the pull shot and he connected that shot well. It would have gone for a boundary had it gone slightly left or right.”
“These things happen in cricket but the special thing was that till the time he played, except for a false shot where he was dropped, he was in total control, whether it was against spin or fast bowling. So there is no area of concern.”
Mohammad Kaif
In the seven One-Day Internationals he has played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Virat Kohli has scored 222 runs, including a century against England, at an average of 44.40. He hasn’t played an ODI at the venue since a stand was named after him, and he’ll want to make it a memorable return by batting well.