WATCH: Virat Kohli caresses classy six off Angelo Mathews in Pune T20I

Virat Kohli caresses classy six off Angelo Mathews: The Indian captain played the shot of the match during his brief stay in the middle.

During the third T20I of the ongoing Sri Lanka’s tour of India in Pune, India captain Virat Kohli caressed a classy six off Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews to please one and all watching the match.

It all happened on the second delivery of the 17th over when Kohli put on display an extension of his defense to hit a nothing ball for a lovely six down the ground. Having used minimal power on the shot, it was all about timing as far as the 31-year old player was concerned.

Kohli, who usually bats at No. 3 in this format, came out to bat at No. 6 in a bid to give opportunities to reserve batsmen. Having hit two fours apart from the six off Mathews, Kohli ended up scoring 26 (17) before getting out.

In addition to Kohli’s batting position, another unusual thing about his innings tonight was him getting run-out by a fair distance. It all happened when Kohli decided to ran an unnecessary second run in the 18th over.

After Sri Lanka captain Lasith Malinga won the toss and invited the hosts to bat first, India posted a formidable 201-6 in 20 overs despite a middle-order collapse. It was a 97-run opening partnership between Lokesh Rahul (54) and Shikhar Dhawan (52) which laid the foundation for such a score.

Virat Kohli caresses classy six off Angelo Mathews

How Twitterati reacted:

First time Virat Kohli scores runs for India while batting at no.6 or lower – after the Adelaide test of 2012, when he hit his first test hundred.

In between, he batted at no.6 once – against Ireland in 2018, but was out for a duck.#INDvsSL

— Kausthub (@kaustats) January 10, 2020

India’s unusual approach has set it up for a very good match

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 10, 2020

Rare sight! Kohli run out and by a mile! Don’t remember the last time I’ve seen that! #INDvSL

— Raunak Kapoor (@RaunakRK) January 10, 2020

Never seen Kohli run out by a mile. Have you? Was pushing for the second perhaps realising that if India would be vulnerable less than 190-odd they

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) January 10, 2020

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About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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