IPL 2016: Shane Watson hails Virat Kohli as one of the greatest chasers of all time
Chasing a target of 191 against the Rising Pune Supergiants at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli played yet another of his masterclass. The Indian Test captain smashed his second IPL century in this year’s tournament.
The Bangalore-based franchise won the match by seven wickets as Kohli guided them towards the finishing line with an unbeaten 108. Australian all-rounder Shane Watson hailed his captain as one of the best chasers across all three formats.
The right-handed batsman from Delhi is touted by many as the best limited-overs chaser of all time. His average while chasing in ODIs is more than 61 with a strike-rate of more than 90.
In T20Is his chasing average is close to 80 with a strike-rate of almost 130. His sublime knock of 141 against Australia in the fourth innings of the Adelaide Test back in December 2014 is lauded as one of the greatest fourth innings batted by several experts.
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Watson, who recently retired from international cricket praised the 27-year-old batsman for his risk-free approach. He said, "Virat has to be one of the greatest chasers of all time in any format. It is incredible to see how well and how easily he hits,
"It seems like he is not taking any risk at all, and he gets 100 off 50 balls to win the game! Having him in our team makes chasing that much easier for us."
The 34-year-old right-handed batsman also played an explosive innings of unbeaten 36 off just 13 balls to help his team win the must-win match also said that watching Kohli from the other end is an amazing experience. He said, "It is simply phenomenal to watch him and bat with him. It is amazing how he sums up the situation consistently so well and executes under huge pressure."
The Queensland-born cricketer also applauded the Indian star for leading the team from the front. He said, "Today we had to win this game to remain in the tournament. He is the captain of our team and he stood up when it mattered."
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Bangalore has been let down in the tournament mainly by their bowling attack. Watson is the go-to man for Kohli in the bowling department but went for plenty of runs against Kolkata Knight Riders. The Australian did come back strongly in yesterday’s match where he picked up three wickets.
Watson added, "There has been plenty of talking for sure. We have talked a lot about different plans, and combinations to make sure we give ourselves the best chance to execute. We had to improve on the bowling front and we continue to work on it."