'Those 35 runs were impactful'- Wasim Jaffer analyzes Virat Kohli's crucial innings against Pakistan

Former Test opener Wasim Jaffer has given his opinion on batting megastar Virat Kohli’s form as he looks forward to regaining his lost glory on the 22 yards in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022. Kohli, who played his 100th T20I match against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, August 28, made a strong statement scoring 35 runs off 34 deliveries.

The 33-year-old looked in fine touch and, at one point in time, looked like single-handedly taking India past the finish line. His dynamic batting approach in the Powerplay overs, just when the Pakistani fast bowlers were trying to make things miserable for the Men in Blue after they lost vice-captain KL Rahul in the very first over without troubling the scorers left the viewers in awe.

He is coming back after a break: Wasim Jaffer

“Those 35 runs were impactful, no doubt about that since you are chasing a target of 147 runs and not 170 or 180. When you are chasing 145, most of the teams should win unless there is a collapse. So based on that, I reckon that definitely, those 35 runs that he scored around 30 balls is good to see,” said Wasim Jaffer while speaking on BatBricks 7 Presents Run Ki Runneeti show on CricTracker.

“He is coming back after a break, and you know he has now got some knock under his belt. Like I said Virat Kohli is such a big player that you expect him to score 60-70 runs in chases like these. We have seen that his record against Pakistan is really outstanding so you expect a Virat innings from someone like Virat Kohli”, he added.

It is to be noted that Kohli was dropped in the very first over after young pacer Naseem Shah had induced an outside edge from his bat as Fakhar Zaman failed to hold on to a difficult chance at third slip despite whole-heartedly putting in a valiant dive. The batting icon was eventually dismissed on the first delivery of the 10th over when he miscued one from spinner Mohammad Nawaz and was caught by Iftikhar Ahmed. Kohli’s knock included three fours and a six.