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Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma hailed his pupil for scoring his 100th T20 fifty, saying that it is as good as scoring 100 centuries in ODIs and it shows his consistency.
Virat's brilliant run in IPL 2025 continued as he registered his third fifty of the season, helping his side chase the target of 174 runs with nine wickets in hand against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur on Sunday. He also became the only the second player after Australia's David Warner to complete a century of fifties in T20s. Speaking to ANI, Rajkumar said about Virat's accomplishment, "Definitely, it is a big achievement. I think scoring 100 fifties is as good as scoring 100 centuries in ODIs I would say because T20 is such a format where scoring fifty is a good score and that shows his consistency. The way he has played since the beginning, he has been the most consistent batsman in the T20 format also." Rajkumar also said that RCB is doing really well and partnership between Virat and Phil Salt has worked really well. "Phil Salt and Virat are really complimenting each other well because initially, Phil is taking on, and Virat is stabilizing the innings. It is a great combination," he added. On the possibility of RCB going all the way to win their maiden IPL title, Rajkumar said that the team looks "balanced". "They have depth in their bowling also and Kohli is looking good. So, let us keep our fingers crossed and hope lot of good things for RCB. It is early to say but the way they are playing they look good as a team but not winning in home conditions (lost both games so far in Bengaluru). I expect them to do well at home too," he added. In the ongoing season, Virat is the fifth-highest run-getter with 248 runs in six innings at an average of 62.00 and a strike rate of above 143, with three fifties and best score of 67. Speaking about Virat featuring in the England tour of five Test matches in June, Rajkumar said, "It is too early. It is a different format. Let us focus on the IPL first." The India's tour of England this year of five Tests will kickstart India's ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle from June 20 onwards. However, the Indian camp has a big worry to tackle before the series: the form of veterans Rohit and Virat in Tests, which has nosedived heavily, contributing to the team's first-ever series whitewash at home last year to New Zealand and their missing out on the WTC final for this year. The 2024-25 season of Tests was miserable for 'Ro-Ko'. While Rohit scored just 164 runs in eight matches and 15 innings at an average of 10.93 with the best score of 52, Virat scored a shambolic 382 runs in 10 matches and 19 innings at an average of 22.87, with just a century and fifty each. While Rohit's Test form underwent a dip just during the last few months, Virat's struggles to regain his dominance in whites have been longer. Since the start of 2020, Virat has averaged just 30.72 in 39 Tests, scoring 2,028 runs with only three centuries and nine fifties to show for it. (ANI)
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