Former India player Varun Aaron has lauded Virat Kohli for playing a well-planned knock in the third ODI against England. Citing Sam Curran as an example, he noted that the modern batting great knows when to accelerate and which bowler to target.
England set India a 388-run target at Lord’s on Sunday, July 19. Although Kohli scored a 60-ball 74 in the chase, the visitors were restricted to 360/7, losing the game by 27 runs.
During an interaction on the Star Sports show ‘Follow the Blues,’ Aaron was asked about the standout feature in Kohli’s knock.
“I think it was his game plan against every single bowler. I would like to take Sam Curran’s spell as an example because he was bowling really slow on the pads with three fielders on the leg side. Any other batter would have tried to slog him through the leg side. However, what was Virat Kohli doing? He was giving himself room and going through the off side,” the former India pacer responded.
“Without any pace on a wicket which was really slow, that’s almost difficult to do. People watching might just think, why isn’t he lapping him or playing a reverse sweep? It’s not that easy. The reason why he is a chase master is because Virat Kohli exactly knows when to pull the trigger and against whom,” he added.
Virat Kohli struck four fours and three sixes during his 74-run knock. He added 113 runs for the second wicket with Rohit Sharma, who smashed 138 runs off 110 balls.
“His staying till the 50th over was very important for the Indian team” – Shardul Thakur on Virat Kohli after ENG vs IND 2026 3rd ODI
Speaking on Sony Sports, India all-rounder Shardul Thakur termed Virat Kohli the chase master and noted that the ace batter had to stay till the end of the innings for the visitors to win the game.
“He is absolutely the chase master. His staying till the 50th over was very important for the Indian team because he had played 60 balls. It wasn’t easy for the batters who came after him,” he said.
The Mumbai Indians (MI) player added that it didn’t seem like Kohli had returned to international cricket after a break, considering the way he batted in the last two ODIs.
“However, the form he showed in this series, although he got out early in the first match, the way he batted in the previous match and in this match, it doesn’t seem like he was out of touch or was coming after a break. It seems like he has started from where he left off and has maintained the same momentum,” Thakur observed.
Virat Kohli was eventually dismissed by Sam Curran in the third ODI between India and England, spooning a catch to Harry Brook while attempting a big shot. The England all-rounder deceived the Indian batters with his variations, finishing with figures of 4/75 in 10 overs.
Edited by Kartik Iyer
