Asia Cup 2022: "Thank you for inspiring a generation" - Hong Kong team's gesture for Virat Kohli wins hearts

Virat Kohli showed signs of returning to form with a half-century in Team India's Asia Cup 2022 clash against Hong Kong on Wednesday, August 31, in Dubai.

Riding on his unbeaten 59 off 44 balls and a masterclass from Suryakumar Yadav (68* off 26), India posted 192 on the board. That proved to be enough as Hong Kong fell 40 runs short.

After the game, the Hong Kong team presented a jersey to Kohli with a heartwarming message for the star batter. It read:

"Virat, thank you for inspiring a generation. We stand with you! There are many incredible days ahead. With strength. With love. Team Hong Kong."

Kohli thanked the Hong Kong team for their gesture and shared a picture of the jersey on his Instagram story. He wrote:

Thank you @hkcricket. This gesture is truly humbling and very very sweet."

Kohli, who scored 35 against Pakistan, notched up his second T20I half-century of the year on Wednesday. He looked a bit rusty at the start, but soon picked up rhythm and played some delightful shots all over the park.

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"There is a value for the half-century" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli's knock

Former cricketer Aakash Chopra believes the half-century will keep Kohli in good stead ahead of the upcoming fixtures.

While it was not a dominating performance from the ace batter, Chopra felt Suryakumar Yadav's swashbuckling knock at the other end allowed the former captain to play his own game.

Find the Asia Cup schedule, timings, venues and match details on Sportskeeda.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra said:

"We were all waiting for Virat Kohli's runs and eventually, the runs were scored as well. I will not say that it was a dominating knock because it was not. Eventually, there is a value for the half-century. Overall, Suryakumar Yadav played a big part in that partnership, he allowed Kohli to take his time."

Kohli will hope to keep the momentum going as he continues his search for rhythm ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia later this year.

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