One of the big positives from India’s victory over Pakistan on Sunday (August 28) was that Virat Kohli showed signs of returning to form with the bat with a knock of 35 runs in 34 balls. While Kohli made a rusty start and had luck going his way at the start, the ex-Indian skipper played some glorious shots and looked in fluent touch before his dismissal.
While the manner in which Kohli lost his wicket attracted criticism as he departed for the dressing room just minutes after skipper Rohit Sharma’s dismissal and lost his wicket after playing a soft shot. However, it was encouraging to see the ex-captain spend time on the crease on his return to the sport after a month long break.
On the eve of India’s second game against Hong Kong on Wednesday (August 31), Kohli took to the gym in India’s team hotel in Dubai and performed an intense workout. The Indian batting superstar shared images of his gym session on his social media accounts
Kohli is coming into the tournament after an extended period of poor form having not scored a century international century for almost three years with his last three-figure knock in the tournament coming against Bangladesh in a pink-ball Test at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens in November 2019.
In recent times, it is not just reaching the landmark that Kohli is struggling with but the runs have also dried up. The Indian skipper had a terrible campaign in the 2022 Indian Premier League for Royal Challengers Bangalore as he made just 341 runs in 16 matches with only two half-centuries to his name. He was dismissed for a golden duck three times in the competition.
His struggles continued on India’s tour of England where he did not make a single half-century in six innings across the three formats.
