'It takes one ball to get him out' - Kesrick Williams looking forward to Virat Kohli battle again

West Indies seamer Kesrick Williams recently opined on his experience of facing Indian captain Virat Kohli on the field. The Vincentian cricketer also opened up on his rivalry with the Indian skipper saying that the next time the duo would face each other in the match field, it will be nothing less than a battle and both of them will be highly pumped up.

Last year, West Indies had toured India for a three-match ODI and T20 series in the month of December where the hosts had outshined the visitors in both the limited-over series by 2-1. One of the major highlights of the West Indies tour was the clash between Williams and Kohli.

The two cricketers came face-to-face for the first time in 2017 when Williams had used his signature ‘notebook celebration’ after dismissing Kohli during a contest in Jamaica. The celebrations by the Caribbean pacer had not gone well with the Indian skipper as he gave it back to Williams during the Hyderabad T20 International in 2019. Virat scored unbeaten 94 in that match and after hitting a six to Williams he gimmicked his celebration.

When asked whether it’s tough to bowl to the Indian captain, the Zouks pacer told FirstPost that Virat is a talented player when he is in the form but he (Williams) is not afraid of bowling to him. Also, Williams doesn’t panic when he has to face Virat on the field.

“Tough to bowl to Kohli? No, it’s not. When he gets going, he’s a talented player. He’s a great player but I am not worried about Kohli. I don’t go to bed at night and am like ‘ohhh it’s Kohli’! No,” the 30-year-old added.

Virat Kohli’s going to be pumped: Kesrick Williams

On being questioned if he is looking forward to the Kohli battle again, Kesrick replied that he will be fun to face Kohli again as he is an aggressive guy and will be pumped up after seeing him bowl to him. The pacer is also confident of getting that one ball which will help take the wicket of the swashbuckling Indian batsman.

“Definitely, I am looking forward to it. I know whenever he sees me, he’s going to be pumped and be like ‘Yo, I am going to beat him’. But mate, at the end of the day, cricket is cricket. It takes one ball to get him out. And I will get that one ball again,” Williams concluded.

With 25 wickets from 41 matches at 18.82 and a strike rate of 13.1 since his debut in September 2016, Williams is the highest wicket-taker for West Indies in T20 Internationals. The Caribbean player has been in blistering form lately as he picked up 13 wickets from 12 matches playing for St Lucia Zouks in the 2020 edition of the Caribbean Premier League. Zouks ended as runners-up losing in the final to Trinbago Knight Riders.