Virat Kohli scored his 29th Test ton on Day 2 of the second Test vs WI.© Twitter
As India took on West Indies in the second Test of the series, Virat Kohli entered history books, playing his 500th international game. On the second day, Kohli entered the record books as he scored his 76th international ton. He is the first player to score a ton in his 500th international match. This was Kohli’s 29th international ton, as he equalled Don Bradman. Sharing his views on India’s batting talisman, West Indies great Courtney Walsh lavished ultimate praise, saying in terms of Indian greats, Kohli is just behind Sachin Tendulkar in his list. Walsh also spoke about a few other greats of the game, while slotting Kohli in his top 5 overall.
“Well, as an Indian great, I would rate him just behind Sachin. Sachin is one of the greatest I have seen and played against,” Walsh told JioCinema.
“Brian Lara, Viv Richards, I will put them up from a West Indian point of view. Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh. Two gentlemen I played when I was a youngster, Graham Gooch from England and Javed Miandad, who probably did not play as many games. But the value they put on their wickets reminded me of Virat Kohli as well, he doesn’t want to go. So I will definitely have him in my top 4, top 5 greatest cricketers I have seen,” he added.
The legendary Windies pacer also spoke about a chat he had with Kohli when the latter was the captain of the Indian team. Walsh, who was West Indies’ selector at that point in time, said that Kohli wants to be a ‘top 3, top 5’ person in everything he does.
“He has got the passion for the game, he wants to leave a mark in the game. I remember having a conversation with him when I was the selector for West Indies, and he was the captain. We were having a chat. You could tell that he wants to be the best. He was willing to seek out advice from anyone that will help to do so. I am not surprised by the achievement. The passion he has and the drive he has to be the top 3, top 5 in everything he does,” Walsh said.
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