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Melbourne, July 19
Australian pacer Pat Cummins today sought to clarify his widely-publicised prediction that Virat Kohli wouldn’t be able to score a hundred against them during India’s tour of Australia later this year, saying it was more wishful thinking than him targeting the Indian run-machine. During a recent interview with broadcaster Bruce McAvaney, Cummins was quoted as saying: “My brave, bold prediction: I’d say I think Virat Kohli is not going to get a hundred and we’re going to knock them off over here.” The comment, which made headlines in the cricket world, was viewed as Cummins bravely laying down a challenge to Kohli.
“I was surprised by the traction the comments I made about Virat got,” Cummins was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. Seeking to clear the air, he added, “I was almost trying to do the opposite to the way they were perceived. I was trying to pay him a huge compliment and say that my big wish list for the summer was he doesn’t score a hundred.
“He’s obviously so important to the team and is such a gun batsman, so him not scoring runs would go a long way to help us win. But I certainly didn’t mean to say he’s no good because I couldn’t hold him in higher regard.”
India will be touring Australia in a few months and Kohli will be keen to lead from the front. Cummins said, “McAvaney just asked me what my big prediction was for the summer. And I just basically said ‘I’d love to see Virat Kohli not make a hundred because he’s a really good player’.
“The chances are he’s going to score a hundred against us again sometime, and we’ll be doing everything in our power to try and stop that. It was just off the cuff. It was a pretty relaxed interview to say I’d love to see him not score runs, like I’d love any international player to not score runs against us.” — PTI
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