cricket

Updated: Mar 09, 2019 11:21 IST

Former Australia cricketer Shane Warne lavished praise on India skipper Virat Kohli depite the hosts losing the third match of the series at the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi on Friday.

Australia now trail 1-2 in the five-match series as they recorded a convincing 32-win in Ranchi. The visitors had earlier lost the first two matches in Vizag and Nagpur respectively.

Also Read: Virat Kohli joins Michael Bevan in elite list after Ranchi ton

Kohli’s 41th ODI ton went in vain as India fell short by some distance and lost a great chance of taking an unassailable lead in the series. Also, India let go of an opportunity to take the top spot in the latest ICC ODI rankings.

Despite this heartbreaking defeat, Warne took to social media to praise the India skipper, who took the hosts agonizingly close to a win. The legendary spinner also lauded Kohli’s never-say-die attitude.

I love watching @imVkohli bat & play cricket as he never ever gives up & always believes his team can win when he’s batting. Just a terrific attitude & one that warms my heart. Congrats to Oz on a wonderful win, some great signs with bat & ball ! Very happy for @AaronFinch5 too ! — Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) March 8, 2019

Warne’s post read: “I love watching @imVkohli bat & play cricket as he never ever gives up & always believes his team can win when he’s batting. Just a terrific attitude & one that warms my heart. Congrats to Oz on a wonderful win, some great signs with bat & ball ! Very happy for @AaronFinch5 too !”

Kohli added numerous accolades to his name after scoring another blazing ton in the 50-over format of the game. He became the 12th ODI skipper to score 4000 ODI runs during his innings of 123 runs off 95 balls.

Also Read: Stats reveal why Rohit Sharma-Shikhar Dhawan partnership is a big cause for concern

The current India skipper is the fourth Indian after MS Dhoni (6641), Mohammad Azharuddin (5239) and Sourav Ganguly (5104) to reach the milestone. He is also the fastest (63 innings) to achieve 4000 ODI runs as captain surpassing AB de Villiers (77 innings).

Kohli has now scored the second most number (eight) of centuries against Australia. Former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar leads the list with nine centuries to his name.