Virat Kohli Teases Axar Patel (Source: @SonySportsNetwk/X)
Virat Kohli is known for teasing others in his own way. And on Wednesday (November 4), a day before his 38th birthday, he was seen doing the same.
Axar Patel was on the receiving end when he did so at Auckland’s Eden Park, as India faced New Zealand in the first ODI of the five-match series.
Virat Kohli Brings Out Banter-Laced Praise For Axar Patel
The incident occurred during the 5th over of New Zealand’s innings, after Shubman Gill won the toss and chose to bowl first in Auckland. There, Arshdeep Singh brought Henry Nicholls into the middle by giving India the first breakthrough with Will Young’s wicket.
Then Nicholls tried to slap it to the point after Arshdeep offered some width to the left-handed batter. Axar, however, stretched his left hand to stop it in style, and Kohli immediately came to him with a cheeky smile.
It was supposed to be a boundary for Nicholls, but Axar made sure no run would be added to the scorecard for that.
The talismanic batter even patted Axar on the back to laud him, and no wonder the video went viral on social media.
Watch Virat Kohli's Cheeky Appreciation Of Axar Patel’s Fielding Here:
Eventually, Arshdeep Singh got the wicket of Henry Nicholls, as the Kiwi batter holed out to Naman Dhir after scoring 9 runs off 11 balls.
What Are Kohli's ODI Numbers In New Zealand?
This would probably be Virat Kohli’s last assignment in New Zealand. Historically, he has posted impressive ODI numbers there since he first played in New Zealand in 2014.
Across 13 innings, Kohli has made 596 ODI runs in New Zealand at an average of 49.66. He has one century and four half-centuries in there, striking at 91.41.
He will be keen to improve his numbers by keeping himself available for all five ODIs against New Zealand. Since he has already retired from Tests and T20Is, managing his workload won’t be a challenge.
Besides, Kohli has set the goal of World Cup 2027 success. Therefore, it would be very important for him to stay in good touch with the bat in hand in order to break new records.
