Perth, Oct 29: Mesmerised by the way Virat Kohli floored arch-rivals Pakistan in their T20 World Cup opener, Australian legend Greg Chappell rated the former skipper as the “most complete Indian batsman” of his time.
In a fitting response to his doubters, who had raised questions about his spot in the format, Kohli slammed an unbeaten 82 to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against Pakistan on Sunday.
Describing the innings as a “song by God”, the 74-year-old said: “None of the greats of bygone eras could have dismembered of an opponent so brutally without compromising the niceties of the art of batting than Kohli did last Sunday night.
“Kohli is the most complete Indian batsman of my time. Only the greatest of champions has the courage and the intelligence to transport their imagination beyond the mortal plane. Kohli has that. Perhaps only Tiger Pataudi has come close to transcending a similar stratosphere,” Chappell wrote in a column for The Sydney Morning Herald.
“Kohli played an innings that was as close to a ‘song by god’ as has ever been played in T20 cricket. Like a cat playing with a new skein of wool, Kohli teased then expertly picked apart an excellent Pakistan bowling attack until it lay unravelled, spent and exposed on the green carpet of the MCG.”
Chappell further said that Kohli’s innings against Pakistan “legitimised” T20 cricket. “It was an innings that showcased the art of batting like no other that I have seen in a lifetime of watching cricket.
“Ironically, it was also the innings that legitimised T20 cricket as, dare I say it, an art form, more than any that I have seen in the past 15 years. Nobody can dismiss T20 cricket as simply entertainment ever again,” said the former India coach.
Chappell said only World Cup-winning Australia wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist could have come close to Kohli in terms of sheer strokeplay. “I can think of many of the best hitters in the modern game who could have pulled off a similar victory, and probably have, but none has ever done it with pure batting skills in the manner that Kohli did against Pakistan,” he said.
“Only Adam Gilchrist has come close in the past, but this was even more esoteric than some of his most sublime efforts. It was simply impossible to look away.” (PTI)
