Virat Kohli Will Find It Hard To Score A Century In Pakistan, Says Mickey Arthur

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur has hailed the prowess that is Virat Kohli while adding a little caveat to his world-beating ability. Kohli, up to 33 ODI centuries and only second to Sachin Tendulkar, has raked numerous records in his career already. No matter the opposition or the venue, if there is one player that can be counted on, it is Kohli himself. Where players get phased by run chases and tough asks, Kohli thrives on it and it is proven by the fact that 20 of his 33 centuries have come while batting second. Of the 20 centuries, 18 have resulted in an India win.

Kohli’s 100 in the first ODI of the on-going six-match series meant he has now scored a ton against all nine nations that he has toured. The only nation missing from his list is Pakistan. Even as the skipper acculumates incredible records and milestones in his career, Arthur believes Kohli would not have it easy in Pakistan. “Kohli is a fantastic player but our team will make it hard (for him) to score a century there (Pakistan). It has been a great pleasure to watch Kohli scoring against all teams and it is always enjoyable to watch his batting. However, our bowlers will not make it easy for him to score there,” Arthur said.

India have not played a proper bilateral series against arch-rivals Pakistan since 2007-08 even though Pakistan toured India for a short limited-over series in 2012-13. Since then, amid political tension, the countries have opted not to tour each other despite being pencilled in on Future Tours Programme (FTP).

Post the 2009 terrorist attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus, the tours to Pakistan have dwindled. Nine years on, the game is making a gradual return to Pakistan playing in front of their home crowd but hosting a full-fledged series is still a far-fetched proposition. Most recently, Sri Lanka played Tests, ODIs and two T20s in UAE before moving to Lahore for the third and final T20. However, that game was missed by some members of the Lanka squad due to apprehension over security.

“Hopefully, India will come to play in Pakistan,” Arthur went on add.

Couretsy : indianexpress