Virat Kohli and India captain Rohit Sharma's fans clashed on Twitter over their performances in the 2023 Cricket World Cup. The former's supporters accused the latter's fans of ‘hypocrisy' over allegations of “selfishness” against the Delhi-born cricketer.

 

Earlier, ‘Chokli' was among the top Twitter trends after India talisman Virat Kohli experienced a rare failure in the 2023 Cricket World Cup. 

 

The Delhi-born cricketer, the leading run-scorer in this edition of the World Cup before the match against England, failed to trouble the scorers in Lucknow.

 

Virat Kohli could not absorb the pressure and lost his wicket while trying to smash England pacer David Willey over the top.

 

His dismissal came after he could not open his account on the first eight deliveries of his knock and fell on the ninth after he attempted an aerial shot off David Willey.

 

It was Virat Kohli's 34th duck in international cricket, taking his tally at par with Sachin Tendulkar, to join the legendary cricketer on top of the list of Indians with the most zeros across formats.

 

Team India never recovered from a series of early blows, including the wicket of Virat Kohli, managing only 229/9 on the board.

 

Even a score of 229 looked improbable at one point, but thanks to Rohit Sharma's 87 and Suryakumar Yadav's 49, India managed to put up a respectable total on the scoreboard.

 

In reply, Jos Buttler and his boys were never in the hunt, with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami putting up an exhibition of world-class fast bowling as England were bowled out for 129, handing India a 100-run victory.

 

The two veteran Indian pacers picked up three and four wickets each to ensure the Men in Blue remained unbeaten in the quadrennial event.

 

It was India's sixth consecutive victory in the 2023 Cricket World Cup, nearly sealing their spot in the semifinals.

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Though Virat Kohli couldn't do much with the bat at the Ekana Stadium, he revealed the mantra behind his success on the field during the last fifteen years.

 

“If we talk about cricket, I had never thought of achieving all, as in where my career is and how god has blessed me such a career span and performances. I had always dreamt I'd do this, but I had never thought thing would pan out this way exactly, nobody can plan these things, the way your journey is going, and the way things unfold in front of you. I hadn't thought that I'd score so many hundreds and so many runs in these 12 years,” Virat Kohli told Star Sports.

 

“My only focus was that I should perform well for the team, and win games for the team from difficult situations. For that I mad quite a few changes along the way regarding discipline and lifestyle. I always had the drive in me, but I lacked the professionalism. Now I have a single-minded focus on how I want to play the game, and after that the results I've achieved is from playing that way itself,” he explained.

 

“The game recognizes effort. Honestly, that's what I have learnt from my career. I've played cricket by giving my hundred percent on the field, and the blessings I have got from it have been given to me by god, and I had never thought things would have unfolded this way,” Virat Kohli underlined.

 

Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar predicted that Virat Kohli will break Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI tons in India's upcoming contest against South Africa.

 

Presently, Virat Kohli has 48 centuries to his name in the 50-over format.

 

“I don't know about the 49th but I know about the record-breaking 50th. Kohli will slam his 50th ODI century against South Africa at the Eden Gardens and what better occasion than his birthday? It's a sight when you slam a ton there because the Kolkata crowd gives you a standing ovation, and cheers for you, the air is filled with whistles and claps. It is a moment to savor for every batter,” Sunil Gavaskar said.

 

Ex-Australian all-rounder Shane Watson praised Virat Kohli for his ability to soak up pressure and deliver the goods for the team in run-chases.

“People have got to realize it's not that easy to chase runs, but Kohli makes it look so easy. He's just done it for so long that he just makes it look so easy. It's challenging because you've got to work out who you're batting with, which balls to take down, which ones you got to be a bit more lower risk at,” Shane Watson told the tournament's host broadcasters.

 

“Virat has got that internal computer, which just work so efficiently, and he just knows what you need to do at the right time. It's not like it's just like a walk in the park. It's a World Cup game against an undefeated team which is in fine form and his internal computers does his thing. It's absolutely beautiful to watch,” he concluded.