Virat Kohli, the former Indian cricket captain and a key figure in the Indian batting lineup, began his World Cup 2023 journey with two impressive half-centuries, one against Australia and the other against Afghanistan.
His 85-run performance against Australia was particularly remarkable, as he and KL Rahul helped India recover from a shaky start of 2-3 to successfully chase a target of 200. Kohli seems to be in excellent form as India prepares for a highly anticipated showdown against arch-rivals Pakistan in Ahmedabad on October 14, 2023.
Kohli has a strong track record against Pakistan in One Day International (ODI) cricket. In the 15 ODI matches he’s played against Pakistan, he’s scored 662 runs with an impressive average of 55.16, including three centuries.
However, Kohli’s performance against Pakistan in ODI matches on his home turf, India, has been quite disappointing. In the four ODIs he’s played against Pakistan in India, he has only managed to score 22 runs, with a batting average of 5.50, which is below his usual standards.
Kohli’s struggles against Pakistan at home began in Mohali in 2011 when he scored just nine runs in the World Cup semi-final. The 2012/13 ODI series against Pakistan was also a challenging one for him, with scores of 0(5), 6(9), and 7(17). On all three occasions during that series, he was dismissed by the Pakistani pacer Junaid Khan.
Kohli’s performance at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad during ODIs has also been less than stellar. He has played seven ODIs at this venue, scoring only 176 runs at an average of 25.14, with just one half-century. In his last outing at this stadium in ODIs against West Indies in 2022, he was dismissed for a duck by Alzarri Joseph.
While the statistics may not be in Kohli’s favor, fans remain hopeful that he will deliver a strong performance in the upcoming high-stakes match against Pakistan. This will be the eighth time that India and Pakistan face off in an ODI World Cup match, with India emerging victorious in all previous encounters.
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