Asia Cup diary: All about Kohli for fans

By K.R. Nayar

Dubai.  Though there is rivalry in cricket between Indians and Pakistanis, there is no animosity between the fans. All of them were seated together to watch the action on Sunday at the Dubai International stadium. After the match, they indulged in intense post-mortem of the match in a sporting manner. It was interesting to hear the various views from them. Pakistan supporters feel that had Virat Kohli been caught in the first over by Fakhar Zaman, they would have won the match. Among the Indian fans, there were pro as well as anti Kohli fans. 


This story was published in The Telegraph, India 

Supporters of Kohli feel that it was Kohli who showed the way to victory through his brilliant shots. The anti-Kohli fans felt that he played the most irresponsible shot despite all his experience to get out. 


Virat Kohli arrives for practice at the ICC Academy 

Almost all Pakistan fans seemed confident that they will win the rest of the matches, to which an Indian fan wanted to know whether any player, except Babar Azam, could be compared to Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya. The retort to that was also quick. “If so, why did India win with only two balls to spare?” The most sporting moment of the match was when the Indian supporters too joined the Pakistan fans in clapping for Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah after he recovered from his cramps. 

 

Tape-ball cricket stars

 

Pakistan’s Naseem Shah and Shahnawaz Dahani who sparkled for Pakistan against India grew up playing gully cricket with a taped ball. Shah bowled brilliantly on Sunday against India to take the wickets of KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav, while Dahani, batting at No.11, displayed his power-hitting to score 16 runs in six balls and give Pakistan a fighting total. Shah hails from the Dir District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He used to try and bowl like the Pakistan greats Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and New Zealand’s Shane Bond with the tape-ball. It is said he bowled with a cricket ball only after he joined a cricket academy. Dahani hails from a small village near Larkana, Sindh , and was a tape-ball cricket star. A Larkana regional cricket official, watching him bowl in a tape-ball cricket match, invited him to join the Under-19 district selection. Latif Khan, who organised 10PL, the richest tennis ball cricket tournament at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium with a prize money of Dh250,000, is a happy man.


The richest tennis ball cricket tournament 

 “It is through tennis ball or tape-ball cricket that many players have come to the fore, including Wasim Akram,” said Khan, who once had Akram as the brand ambassador for his tennis-ball cricket tournament. This tournament was contested by teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman. The fourth edition of this tournament will be held in India for the first time from December 18 to 25, 2022, at the Dadoji Kondev Stadium in Thane.

 

Bhuvneshwar and Pakistan

 

There are fans in the UAE who keenly follow every Indian cricketer. Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who picked Pakistan’s four wickets, is an idol for a few budding cricketers. “I like Bhuvneshwar for his bowling as well as his manners on field,” remarked one. They have a reservoir of information about this bowler. Rattling out his stats, one said, “Bhuvneshwar made his One Day and T20 International debut against Pakistan. He got a wicket with his debut ball in ODI when he removed Mohammad Hafeez with the first ball. He made his T20 International debut too against Pakistan and picked the wicket of Nasir Jamshed with the last ball of his first over.” In Sunday’s match, he almost got Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan who survived two reviews in the first over.


Link to telegraphindia website: https://www.telegraphindia.com/sports/cricket/all-about-virat-kohli-for-fans/cid/1883593

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