“Greatest chaser of all time”: Joe Root hails Virat Kohli ahead of World Cup clash

New Delhi [India]: England batter Joe Root named India’s stalwart batter Virat Kohli as the “greatest chaser of all time” ahead of their upcoming clash in the World Cup on Sunday at Lucknow’s Ekana stadium.

England have failed to live up to their pre-tournament billing in the ongoing World Cup as they currently sit at the bottom of the table with two points.

However, with their backs against the wall and faced with a do-or-die battle, the Three Lions will go all out to pull off a victory against the hosts. The defending champions hold a 4-3 lead over the Men in Blue in head-to-head encounters in ODI World Cups.

However, on current form, India appear to hold the upper hand going into Sunday’s clash.

Virat has been influential in India’s unbeaten run in the World Cup so far, playing match-winning hands in all the team’s chases. The former all-format captain steadied the ship when India found themselves in a sticky situation against Australia and New Zealand.

Hailing Virat, Root told Star Sports, “Virat is probably the greatest chaser of all time his record is incredible.”

Virat’s performance with the bat could be a major factor in determining the outcome of the game. There are some quality bowlers in England’s star-studded department who could pose some questions to the experienced batter. But for Virat, pacer Mark Wood and spinner Adil Rashid will be the two bowlers he would like to face on the field.

“Mark Wood I have played against him a few times he is a great bowler he has the skill set to trouble batsmen I would like to test myself against real pace,” Virat said.

“Adil Rashid, he is a very underrated bowler and he has been doing well for England a very challenging bowler I look forward to play against,” Virat added.

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.

England: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Brydon Carse, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.