Virat Kohli is a very aggressive captain, he will always go for the win: Irfan Pathan

The much-anticipated final between India and New Zealand is heading towards a draw as two days of the game were washed out due to rain. While the result of the match is likely to be a draw, India can change it by going for a victory. The reserve day of the WTC final will see Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara walking in the middle in the third innings with the Indian team having a 32-run lead. 

If India needs to win the match, they need to put some spectacular batting on display. Virat Kohli & Men will have to put up a target of 200+ runs by batting in the first half of the reserve day and then will have to take all the ten wickets of the Kiwi side in the second half. While many in the cricket fraternity believe that the first WTC final will have no result, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan thinks otherwise. 

Irfan believes that the Indian skipper Kohli is an aggressive captain and he will always go for a win instead of trying to end the game in a draw. The all-rounder reckoned that if India doesn’t lose more than one wicket in the first hour on the reserve day, then the fans will get to witness and an aggressive Kohli. 

If India reach somewhere close to 160-mark, and then they can give batting: Irfan Pathan

“We know Virat Kohli is a very aggressive captain. He would always go for the kill, always go for the win. But he would also understand the situation that New Zealand are slightly ahead. But that one hour, if we don’t lose more than one wicket, then we would see the aggressive Virat Kohli there. Obviously, Cheteshwar Pujara will be very crucial as well in that one hour,” Irfan told Star Sports.

The all-rounder further added that a target of around 160 will be enough for the Indian side and after that, India should declare their innings and try to get some early wickets of the Blackcaps to put them on backfoot. 

“I see India playing around 40 overs. and try to get as many runs as possible. If India reaches somewhere close to 160-mark, and then they can give batting and see if they can get early wickets. We have seen in these five days, the morning session has done a bit when it comes to fast bowling moving around. Once you take out that, the game could still be on,” he added.