South African all-rounder Marco Jansen lauded Indian star batter Virat Kohli after his match-winning century in the first ODI on Sunday in Ranchi. Jansen admitted that once Kohli gets through the opening phase of his innings, stopping him becomes almost impossible. Kohli on Sunday notched up his 52nd ODI hundred, once again reaffirming his status as one of the greats of the game. For Jansen, that knock was a reminder of why Kohli is regarded as one of the modern greats.
“It’s nice to watch him play. Growing up watching him on TV, to actually bowling to him now — it’s annoying but it’s fun at the same time. He drives well, he pulls well, cuts well, plays with his pads well. I don’t think much has changed — he’s just batting longer and longer,” said Jansen in the post-match press conference.
This isn’t the first time that Jansen has bowled to Kohli. Their paths first crossed when Jansen was just 17, bowling as a net bowler to the Indian team during their 2017–18 tour of South Africa.
“When you bowl to world-class players, it's quite difficult to get them out. I always try to get a batter in his first 10 or 15 balls. That's when they're still getting used to the wicket. But once they're in, and they get on a roll, it's very difficult to stop them. Everyone here knows how to play — that's why you go to plan B or C.” Jansen said.
India, meanwhile, sealed a 17-run win to go 1-0 up in the three-match series. Apart from Kohli's heroic 135-run knock, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul also made noteworthy contributions with 57 and 60 respectively.