India vs South Africa: Virat Kohli equals Shahid Afridi’s feat with Man of the Match performance in Mohali
India vs SA: Kohli’s unbeaten knock of 72 took him past teammate Rohit Sharma in the list of highest run-getters in the shortest format.
The second T20 international between India and South Africa at Mohali turned out to be another occasion for the cricketing world to witness the genius of Virat Kohli. The Indian captain’s consistency across formats is something to marvel for fans and pundits alike and his unbeaten half-century, that took India to victory, earned him his 11th Man of the Match award in cricket’s shortest format.
With this Kohli is now on par with another T20 legend. Former Pakistan captain and 2009 ICC WT20 champion Shahid Afridi enthralled fans with his all-round skills in T20Is and won 11 Man of the Match awards himself. With this effort on Wednesday, Kohli has equalled the mercurial Afridi’s feat. The two are now tied in the second spot for most MoM awards won in T20Is behind Afghanistan veteran Mohammad Nabi.
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Kohli’s unbeaten knock of 72 took him past teammate Rohit Sharma in the list of highest run-getters in the shortest format. His average is now above 50 across all formats again and he is the only cricketer in the world to currently hold this feat.
“I don’t know how Virat bhaiya (brother) manages to score these many runs and that too with such consistency. He is a next-level player,” paceman Deepak Chahar at the post-match presser.
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Afridi himself took to twitter after the match and congratulated the Indian captain on another fabulous knock while chasing.
“Congratulations Kohli! You are a great player indeed, wish you continued success, keep entertaining cricket fans all around the world,” tweeted Afridi after the match.