‘Will Be Difficult To Stop Him If…’: Irfan Pathan Makes Bold Virat Kohli Prediction Ahead Of 3rd ODI | Cricket News

Virat Kohli out for four-ball duck in 2nd IND-AUS ODI. (Picture Credit: AP)

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has backed batting superstar Virat Kohli to come up with a big show in the third ODI against Australia. The third ODI match between India and Australia will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday (October 25). In the first two matches played between the two teams, Kohli even failed to open his account. But despite Kohli’s back-to-back ducks, Pathan has backed him to deliver.

According to Pathan, Kohli’s form is important for Team India, and the world No. 4 ODI batter needs to rotate strike because once he starts doing that, it will become very difficult for the opposition team to stop him.

“Virat Kohli’s form is important. He needs to rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard moving. Because once he starts doing that, it becomes very difficult for any opposition to stop him. I hope Virat starts rotating the strike quickly, gets some runs on the board, and once that happens, there’s no looking back for him,” Pathan said.

Kohli, who is the third-highest run-getter in the 50-over format of the game, will become the second-highest run-getter in ODI cricket on Saturday if he manages to score at least 54 runs.

As of now, Kohli has 14,181 runs to his credit in 304 ODIs played so far, whereas Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara finished his ODI career with 14,234 runs in 404 matches.

Apart from breaking Sangakkara’s record, Kohli will also have a chance to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most runs in white-ball cricket (ODIs and T20Is combined).

Kuldeep to play?

Kuldeep Yadav warmed the bench in the first two ODI matches played between India and Australia, but he is likely to get a chance to play in Sydney.

Former India opener Aakash Chopra, who has now donned the hat of an expert, feels India might not need three fast bowlers in Sydney.

“Three fast bowlers might not be needed in Sydney, because it is generally a spin-friendly pitch. Kuldeep Yadav enjoys bowling here; it is a big ground, and you can use that to your advantage in the middle overs. India should play Kuldeep and look to exploit the middle overs phase, creating wicket-taking opportunities and pressure through spin,” he said.