‘Sachin Tendulkar used to do that’ - Irfan Pathan lauds Virat Kohli for his batting approach against Jofra Archer in IPL 2023

Courtesy of a sensational partnership between Virat Kohli and skipper Faf du Plessis, Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Mumbai Indians by eight wickets in their opening match of the season. Notably, the former India skipper wreaked havoc in the middle, scoring 82* runs off 49 deliveries while Faf smashed 73 off 43 balls as RCB chased down 172 runs in just 16.2 overs.

Speaking about the match, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan lauded Kohli for his terrific batting and compared his approach with that of Sachin Tendulkar. He stated that the ‘Master Blaster’ used to attack the leading bowlers of the opponent team, just like how Kohli did against Jofra Archer at Bangalore's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

“Great players do that. Sachin Tendulkar used to do that. He used to target the big bowlers in the opposition team, whether it was Glenn McGrath or Shane Warne, we have seen that repeatedly. Virat Kohli is also a player of the same stature. So he says that he will try to do even better when confronted with a challenge”, Pathan was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

“I was personally excited to watch the face-off between Jofra Archer and Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli won that contest this time. There was a chance on the first ball but after that, he didn't look behind. Only Jofra Archer was turning back as the ball was going beyond the boundary line,” he added.

We need to play on this momentum: Virat Kohli

After a brilliant win against the Rohit Sharma-led side, Virat Kohli pointed out that they are the third most consistent team in the history of IPL and that to win the competition this time around, they needed to stay focused and play with the same momentum. 

“Apart from Mumbai winning five times and Chennai four times, we have qualified the most number of times, so we do play consistent cricket. It's just about staying focused, and just try to be the best balanced team. We need to play on this momentum. We just need to execute better,” the 34-year-old was quoted as saying by The Times of India.