Pakistan skipper Babar Azam became a butt of jokes on social media after India talisman Virat Kohli's record-breaking unbeaten knock of 122 against his side powered the Men in Blue to a historic 228-run victory in the Asia Cup this week.
Babar Azam's mockery on Twitter, now renamed X, came after the Pakistani batter, currently ranked No.1 in ICC's ODI rankings, fell for ten against India, having seen his stumps knocked over by all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
Netizens even taunted him with “Zimbabar” posts, suggesting he can only score centuries against minnows like Zimbabwe and not against quality teams like India.
In contrast to Babar Azam, Virat Kohli made history in the Super-4 clash of the Asia Cup against Pakistan, becoming the quickest to complete 13,000 runs in One-Day Internationals (ODIs).
With an unbeaten knock of 122 runs in 94 deliveries against Babar Azam and his men, Virat Kohli shattered his idol Sachin Tendulkar's long-standing record of being the fastest to reach 13,000 runs in the 50-over format.
While Sachin Tendulkar needed 321 essays to touch the 13,000-run milestone, Virat Kohli required only 267 innings to accomplish the landmark.
Soon after Virat Kohli blazed through his 47th century in ODIs, he began trending on social media, and fans started praising him for tearing the Pakistani attack apart.
However, this was not the only accomplishment the 34-year-old premier India batter attained during his knock against Pakistan.
Remarkably, this was Virat Kohli's 47th ODI hundred, leaving him just two behind Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49.
Also, his century against the Green Army was his fourth successive ton at the R Premadasa Stadium in Sri Lanka, making him the second man to do so at a single venue in international cricket.
Before him, former South African batter Hashim Amla achieved a similar feat at SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium in Centurion.
Notably, this is India's highest score against Pakistan in ODIs, equaling the previous 356/9 at Visakhapatnam in 2005, which marked the arrival of the legendary MS Dhoni, who struck a scintillating 148 in that contest.
Moreover, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul were engaged in an unbroken stand of 233. It is the highest partnership for any wicket for India against Pakistan. Kohli and Rahul surpassed Sachin Tendulkar and Navjot Singh Sidhu's 231-run stand the duo achieved in 1996.
With Virat Kohli and KL Rahul taking the Pakistani bowling attack to the cleaners, India posted a mammoth score of 356/2 on the board.
In reply, Babar Azam and his boys felt the heat in their run chase from the beginning, with Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya delivering them early blows.
Subsequently, left-arm unorthodox spinner Kuldeep Yadav bamboozled the Pakistani middle-order, picking up an impressive 5/25 to complete India's biggest victory over the neighboring side by 228 runs.
Virat Kohli and KL Rahul's knocks earned them rich plaudits from Pakistan great Waqar Younis.
“The difference between him and other players, even Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin Tendulkar, when he finished, had 49 hundreds (ODIs). I can promise you Virat is a long way from finishing his career or being done with cricket. He will end up with a lot more (hundreds) than anybody can think,” Waqar Younis said on Star Sports.
“I felt sorry for KL Rahul because he was coming out of injury and he had to run with this man. He runs like a crazy man. Doesn't miss a single, doesn't miss any extra run because he wants to be the best. He wants to be the best in anything he does, batting, fielding or running between the wickets. And what he loves himself is his work on fitness,” the former Pakistan speedster explained.
Meanwhile, former India cricketer Sanjay Bangar appealed to India captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid not to rest Virat Kohli in the final Super-4 game against Bangladesh.
“Rohit Sharma will definitely play. Shubman Gill is a youngster, so he will play. Virat Kohli likes this ground a lot, so you can't ask Virat Kohli to sit out on this ground. The players at No. 4 and No. 5 are trying to cement their places and will want to play,” Sanjay Bangar told Star Sports.
“The bowlers didn't need to do too much work. Jasprit Bumrah didn't have to bowl his entire quota of 10 overs in both matches. Similarly, Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Siraj also didn't have to do that.”
“There is always a slight question mark on the fast bowlers in terms of workload management but considering the sort of combination that has been created, with three spinners and three fast bowlers, and that the batters are in rhythm, there is very little chance for us to see any different player,” he added.
“It will be better if they play with the same players. Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma will not want the players' rhythm to break. There was a two-day break as well. They played three days consecutively but after that they would have got a good break of two days,” Sanjay Bangar signed off.
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