Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram sided with under-fire Virat Kohli, who was criticised for “playing for his century” in the India-Bangladesh World Cup 2023 match.

Kohli racked up his 48th ODI ton in a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh. This was his third World Cup century, the first since 2015. His maiden hundred in the quadrennial event came way back in 2011 against the same opponents. As India inched closer to Bangladesh’s target of 257, Kohli was amidst a tricky equation. The required runs for his century almost matched with India’s victory.

In an intriguing passage of play, Kohli and his partner KL Rahul turned down singles to allow the former to reach the hundred. Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed came to bowl the 39th over, with India requiring 19 runs for a victory, the same needed for Kohli’s ton. Kohli smashed the first ball to the boundary and played a dot in the following delivery. He pushed the third ball to deep cover point, but despite a run on offer, the duo decided not to run. Kohli played a slog-sweep for a maximum in the next ball, followed by a single in the last delivery to keep the strike.

However, he received a lot of flak for denying the singles as many people on social media alleged he was playing for his century. With eight runs away from a World Cup hundred and an India win, he ran two quick doubles in the 41st over. Kohli still looked fresh despite arriving at the crease in the 13th over after fielding for the entirety of Bangladesh’s innings. Legendary Akram didn’t find any harm with the tactics as he lauded the star batter.

Speaking on ‘The Pavilion’ show on A Sports, Akram said, “He fielded for the first 50 overs, and then, in the 90th over of the match, he took back-to-back twos. That shows his fitness, that shows that this guy is from another planet. They were winning pretty easily, if the batter has a chance to reach his century, let him be. They were toying with the bowlers, they were enjoying their batting. When Kohli came to bat, and the start that he had, it was only a matter of time.”

Kohli didn’t go unnoticed as Akram praised the star batter for his endurance: “He was on 92. And after fielding for 50 overs, he batted and did that. That shows extreme fitness.”

Batting on 97, Kohli reached the landmark with a huge six off Nasum Ahmed in the 42nd over and sealed India’s fourth victory on the trot in the World Cup 2023 in the process.

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