Virat Kohli looks simply unstoppable: Jonty Rhodes

The era of T20 cricket misses him. Had he been around now, the game would have been richer. But Jonty Rhodes is never too far away from the game. The South African has grown a close bonding with India, thanks to the nation’s growing significance as the centre of world cricket, and he, like the rest of the cricketing world, is a big admirer of the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, two batting powerhouses of contemporary cricket.

The 49-year-old was in New Delhi recently to inaugurate a new showroom of Japanese automotive major Isuzu and therein, he spoke on various issues on cricket in a chat with Sportstar. Rhodes, who played 52 Tests and 245 ODIs for South Africa between 1992 and 2003 and scored over 8,000 runs, praised both Kohli and Sharma for their power-packed batting display against the Windies in the first ODI in Guwahati on October 21 which saw the hosts going 1-0 up in the ongoing five-match series.

When asked what impressed him to praise Kohli and Rohit during their match-winning 246-run partnership in Guwahati, Rhodes said: “It was a dominating show and the duo batted beautifully, especially Kohli. Kohli’s batting has been a treat to watch – nothing to take away from Rohit – but Kohli looks simply unstoppable.”

The Indian skipper who scored a faster hundred (140) while Rohit remained not out on 152 to steer India to a comfortable win while chasing a target of 323.

‘Australia series will be important for Kohli’

The iconic fielder was also asked whether Kohli’s captaincy has also been equally tested. To that, his reply was more circumspect. He said India almost won in their series in South Africa and felt they will come back strongly after the result in England. The former South African cricketer said the upcoming tour of Australia will be important.

Captain Kohli faced two consecutive Test series losses in South Africa (1-2) and England (1-4) and will be leading India to yet another tough overseas tour Down Under starting next month.

Kohli, however, has the experience of leading India in Australia when he chipped in as the stand-in captain in the 2014-15 series for two Tests. India lost one of those Tests while drew the other.

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