“What is wrong in what Virat did?” - Kris Srikkanth bats for Kohli amid backlash over denying singles to reach hundred

Former India batter Kris Srikkanth threw his weight behind Virat Kohli after the latter faced some backlash for refusing singles to reach his hundred in the 2023 World Cup match against Bangladesh on Thursday.

India beat Bangladesh by seven wickets in the World Cup clash at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune to maintain their unbeaten run in the tournament. Batting first after winning the toss, Bangladesh were held to 256/8 despite a solid start. Kohli then struck an unbeaten 103* off 97 balls as the Men in Blue raced to victory in 41.3 overs.

The star Indian batter eased into the 90s, but maneuvered the strike towards the end as he approached the three-figure mark. Even as some critics and fans questioned Kohli’s move to turn down some singles so that he could reach his hundred with a big hit, Srikkanth wholeheartedly backed the cricketer.

Taking to his official X account, he wrote:

“What is wrong in what virat did? I question ppl who don't understand cricket,note it is a huge deal to score A century in a world cup, @imVkohli deserves this & much more! kudos to a team man like @klrahul who deserved it against Aus in Chennai ! Enjoy when u still can #INDvsBAN.”

Rahul was stranded on 97* in India’s opening 2023 World Cup match against Australia in Chennai. The keeper-batter also clarified that Kohli was apprehensive of refusing singles during the game against Bangladesh as he would be viewed as selfish. He revealed that he insisted Kohli to try and get his ton as the match was completely in India’s grasp.

“He was confused, actually. He said, 'it would not look too nice to not take a single, it is still a World Cup match. It's a big stage, and I don't want to look like I want to get a milestone'. But I said, ‘it is not won but we will still win it quite easily, so if you can get to the milestone, why not. You must try’. And he did that in the end and I wasn't going to run singles!,” Rahul told Star Sports after the match.

Rahul (34* off 34) added an unbroken 83 for the fourth wicket with Kohli in Pune on Thursday.

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Kohli closing in on Tendulkar’s record of ODI tons

Kohli’s century against Bangladesh was his 48th in the one-day format in his 285th match. He just needs one more century to equal Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI hundreds.

With two more tons, he will become the first batter to slam 50 ODI centuries in international cricket. Tendulkar scored 49 hundreds in 463 ODI matches, amassing 18426 runs at an average of 44.83.