World Cup 2023: Virat Kohli makes run chases look easy, says Shane Watson

Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson lauded Virat Kohli for making run chases look easy. Kohli was once again at his usual best against New Zealand at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamshala in the ongoing World Cup 2023 on Sunday.

Kohli scored a fine knock of 95 runs off 108 balls with the help of eight fours and two sixes and thus helped his team get over the line in the run-chase of 274 runs. In fact, India was under the pump at 191-5 but Kohli once again showed his class and stitched a crucial alliance of 78 runs with Ravindra Jadeja, who scored an unbeaten 39.

Kohli is well known to be a chase master and he made the most of his experience to get India out of the troubled waters. The talisman was once again spot on in his calculations and chased down the score in his typical fashion as he rotated the strike at regular intervals.

“People have got to realize it’s not that easy to chase runs, but Kohli makes it look so easy. He’s just done it for so long that he just makes it look so easy. It’s challenging because you’ve got to work out who you’re batting with, which balls to take down, which ones you got to be a bit more lower risk at,” Watson said on Star Sports.

Watson lauded Kohli for doing a consistent job in the run-chase and lauded his mental toughness for another impressive knock under pressure.

“Virat has got that internal computer, which just work so efficiently, and he just knows what you need to do at the right time. It’s not like it’s just like a walk in the park. It’s a World Cup game against an undefeated team which is in fine form and his internal computers does his thing. It’s absolutely beautiful to watch,” Watson further added.

With his knock of 95 runs, Kohli surpassed Sanath Jayasuriya’s tally of most runs in the ODI format and he is now the fourth-highest run-scorer behind Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara, and Ricky Ponting. Kohli is currently the highest run-getter of the ongoing World Cup with 354 runs in five matches at an average of 118 and a strike rate of 90.54.

India will next take on reigning champions England at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Sunday.