Pakistan batter Ahmed Shahzad feels Babar Azam should not be compared with Virat Kohli. The Indian talisman was able to sign off from his T20I career on a high as India lifted the T20 World Cup title by beating South Africa in the summit clash by seven runs at Barbados on Saturday.
Kohli, who could only manage 75 runs in the seven matches of the tournament, brought his best in the all-important final against the Proteas as he scored a fine knock of 76 runs off 59 balls, with the help of six fours and two sixes.
Thus, Kohli helped India in posting a fighting score of 176 runs on the board after Rohit Sharma decided to bat first.
“Virat Kohli is a legend of our generation. Every time he stepped on the field, he played the game with the same enthusiasm. He is leaving a great legacy in the T20Is. Good luck to Indian Cricket trying to fill his massive shoes. No one should compare Babar Azam or any other cricketer to him,” said Shahzad while talking to reporters.
“Even in his last T20I, Virat was celebrating at long-on and long-off whenever a wicket fell. He did not score runs in the entire T20 World Cup, but when things are written in your destiny, you will get them. He scored runs in the final when nobody else stood up with the bat. India would never have won the T20 World Cup final without Virat Kohli’s innings.”
On the other hand, Kohli was delighted after scoring a match-winning knock. The linchpin was struggling to score runs freely in the seven matches but came back to form at the right time and thus was awarded Player of the Match.
“This is exactly what we wanted to achieve. This is an amazing game. I was telling Rohit today when we went out to bat I was like.. one day you feel like you can’t get a run and then you come out and things happen. God is great. I bow my head in gratitude. I am really grateful that I was able to get the job done for the team on the day it mattered the most,” said Kohli at the post-match presentation.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli scored 4188 runs in 125 T20I matches at an average of 48.7 and a strike rate of 137.04 and finished as the second-highest run-getter in the format.
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