Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma (AP Photo) NEW DELHI: Former India batter Mohammad Kaif has offered a sharp, experience-driven explanation on why Virat Kohli has consistently stayed ahead of Rohit Sharma in ODI cricket, placing the spotlight firmly on Kohli’s mindset and ability to turn starts into match-winning contributions.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Kaif’s comments came ahead of the second ODI between India and New Zealand on Wednesday, following Kohli’s decisive role in India’s four-wicket win in the series opener.
Allan Donald on Virat Kohli’s legacy: Can he reach 100 centuries?
“Virat Kohli converts starts. A score of 30 or 40 means he will stay till the end, win the match, and, if he gets into form, become consistent,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel. “That is why, in ODI cricket, Virat Kohli has always been ahead of Rohit Sharma. He consistently scores runs and plays big innings.”ALSO READ: Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar: The ‘nervous’ 90s and the great ‘What If’Kaif also pointed to Kohli’s intensity and self-awareness as a key differentiator, highlighting a moment from the first ODI itself. “You can see it when Virat Kohli got out in the first ODI; he was shaking his head, clearly thinking he played a wrong shot,” he noted, underlining the former captain’s relentless standards even after impactful knocks.
Poll
What aspect of Virat Kohli’s game do you admire most?
Kohli was named Player of the Match in the first ODI for his fluent 93 off 91 balls, an innings that anchored India’s chase of 301 in Vadodara. That knock also kept alive an extraordinary personal streak. The 37-year-old has now registered five successive fifty-plus scores in ODIs, a run that began against Australia in Sydney and continued against New Zealand.Another half-century in the second ODI would see Kohli move past Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane to become the first Indian batter with six successive fifty-plus ODI scores.
