It isn’t easy to sit in front of media and not stop lauding a player of the opponent team. But for Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan, it was important to doff his hat to Virat Kohli who played a masterful knock to all but eliminate the ICC Champions Trophy hosts. Kohli came into the showdown against Pakistan on the back of an embarrassing run that saw even his place in the team being questioned repeatedly. However, Kohli surprised everyone with his execution as he hit Pakistan bowlers all across the park.
Virat roared back to form with an unbeaten 100 off 111 balls, laced with seven fours, a delight for every cricket lover. He added a couple of feathers to his hat, including the fastest to 14,000 ODI run milestone.
Rizwan, who attended the press conference after Pakistan’s defeat, wasn’t just fascinated with Virat’s effortless chase masterclass; but also the fitness level the India star has managed to maintain despite being 36 years old. As questions were fired at Rizwan by the media personnel, he decided to put everything at halt and first hail Virat, the man who once again proved why he is considered among the finest the game has ever seen.
“First, let’s talk about Virat Kohli. I am surprised at his hard work. He must have worked so hard. The world says he is out of form, but he comes to such big matches, which the world is waiting for, and he easily hits the ball – and this is where we don’t want to give him runs. But he plays and gets away from us, and he gets the runs off the ball,” Rizwan said in the post-match press conference, leaving everyone stumped with his admiration for the India star.
“I will definitely praise his fitness level and hard work, the way he has done it. Because he is a cricketer and we are also cricketers. We tried very hard to get him out, but he took the game away. He has done a lot of hard work. The whole world said he was out of form – But he did it in this big match,” he added.
While analysing his side’s performance, Rizwan didn’t mince his words while admitting that his side floundered in all three departments of the game.
“As far as the match is concerned, you are disappointed. Because when you lose, you have a difficult day, difficult things come up, and questions come up. But if you look at it all, you can’t say there was a mistake in any department, except if you look at the bowling of Abrar, which was the most positive in this match. We have not made any mistakes. All three departments have made mistakes. That’s why we are losing the match,” he said.
After suffering a second defeat on the trot, Pakistan’s chances of keeping their title defence alive have significantly slimmed. Pakistan’s fate is now in the hands of Bangladesh. If the Tigers pull off an upset over New Zealand in Rawalpindi on Monday, the Men in Green will live to fight another day.
With ANI Inputs
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