"Mujhe dar lag raha tha"- When Virat Kohli said he was scared of Lasith Malinga

Virat Kohli once revealed that he was scared to face Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga.

Kohli is one of the greatest batters in cricket history. The right-handed batter has aggregated more than 23,000 runs in his international career, smashing 70 centuries and 122 half-centuries. Very few batters in cricket have achieved as much success as Virat.

It is the dream of every bowler to take Kohli's wicket once in their careers. However, not every bowler has been able to trouble the former Indian cricket team captain.

Virat has been fearless on the field, and his approach has helped him achieve enormous success against almost every bowler. Very few bowlers have been able to trouble Virat consistently or instill some sort of fear in his head.

However, there is one bowler who scared Virat in the early stages of his career. In one of his interviews with Bollywood star Aamir Khan on a TV show, Virat once admitted that he was afraid that Lasith Malinga would fire a yorker at him during the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final.

Kohli said:

“Mujhe darr lag raha tha Malinga yorker nahi daale (I was afraid of facing Lasith Malinga’s yorker). Already I was nervous! But after 2-3 balls, I settled down.”

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Virat Kohli overcame his fear and dominated Lasith Malinga

Virat Kohli owned Lasith Malinga in Australian conditions (Image: Getty)

Virat might have been scared to face Malinga in the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final because it was a high-pressure match. The Sri Lankan speedster had already dismissed Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar.

But just a few months later, Kohli destroyed Malinga while playing for India in the 2012 Commonwealth Bank tri-series. He smashed a 86-ball 133* to help India chase 321 runs in just 36.4 overs and stay alive in the competition. Lasith Malinga returned with figures of 7.4-0-96-1 in that match.

Has any other batter dominated Lasith Malinga more than Kohli? Sound off in the comments below.