If Rohit Sharma can do in Tests what he did in ODIs, it will be great for India: Virat Kohli

Rohit sharma during practice session (PTI Photo)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Rohit Sharma is all set to open for 1st time in Tests
• Rohit's career transformed after he was promoted to open in ODIs in 2013
• Virat Kohli believes Rohit can emulate his ODI exploits as opener in Tests

India captain Virat Kohli doesn't expect Rohit Sharma to follow a certain style and wants the seasoned campaigner to use his natural instincts much like Virender Sehwag in his new role as Test opener.

Virat Kohli said Rohit Sharma understands what he needs to do and said the transition from the middle-order to opening spot is more mental adjustment than anything else.

Ahead of the 1st Test between India and South Africa, starting October 2, Virat Kohli confirmed Rohit Sharma would open along with Mayank Agarwal. In fact, India named the playing XI for the 1st Test on its eve after captain Kohli addressed the press conference in Visakhapatnam.

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"We are looking forward to Rohit playing his natural game at the top" - @imVkohli #TeamIndia #INDvSA @paytm

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"In Test cricket I started at (number) six then came up to four. It was more of a mental thing. If you can convince yourself you can do it. Test cricket is about finding your game in different conditions," Virat Kohli said on Tuesday.

"We are not looking at a certain kind of display of batting from Rohit. It is about him finding his game at the top. Yes, his strength is to take the game forward. Like what Viru bhai used to do for the team for a long period.

"So, it is not as if someone would have told Viru bhai to attack and get a hundred before lunch. His natural instinct took over and he could demolish attacks once he felt comfortable.

"He definitely has the ability. If the wicket is challenging and then obviously you won't see him smashing the ball, he knows what to do."

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli expects Rohit Sharma to emulate his ODI route to opening success in Tests.

Rohit Sharma had played in the middle-order for 81 ODIs before the then India captain, MS Dhoni came up with the idea of promoting him to the opener's slot. Rohit found instant success and his career changed for good after the promotion.

Rohit has scored 25 hundreds, including 3 double hundreds, ever since his promotion to the opener's slot in 2013.

"For Rohit as well, clarity of role knowing that you have to play in a certain way, is very crucial for a player and for us the communication happened long ago," Virat Kohli said.

"But we could not see a situation but now there is a situation and it is an ideal time to go ahead with it because we have spoken about it. ODIs was same with him.

"He was batting in the middle order and then suddenly opening conversations happened and within 6-8 months he was opening and we all know what happened after that. If he can do what he did in ODIs, it will be great for Indian cricket."

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This man, made me run like in a fitness test: Virat Kohli pays tribute to MS Dhoni

Virat Kohli was spent physically after India's win over Australia (Twitter: @imvkohli)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Virat Kohli shared the picture on Twitter and Instagram
• Kohli called the game as one he can never forget
• Kohli also said that during the game, MS Dhoni made him run like in a fitness test

Virat Kohli on Thursday shared a photo from India's famous win over Australia in the 2016 World T20, in which he can be seen with then captain MS Dhoni. Kohli expressed his joy over the win captioning the picture: 'A game I can never forget. Special night. This man, made me run like in a fitness test'.

It's apparent that Dhoni and Kohli were at the crease as India pulled off a difficult chase of 161 with a number of quick singles and doubles. Kohli's remarks with respect to Dhoni in his social media post are referring to the same as the duo completed a remarkable victory for their side on a 'special night'

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A game I can never forget. Special night. This man, made me run like in a fitness test @msdhoni

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Kohli produced a sublime 82 not out off 51 balls to help India defeat Australia by six wickets and advance to the semifinals. Kohli took charge at a crucial time in what was a virtual quarterfinal, smashing 9 fours and 2 sixes as India reached 161-4 off 19.1 overs in reply to Australia's 160-6.

The No. 3 batsman added 67 off only 31 deliveries with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (18 not out) after a useful 45-run stand for the fourth wicket with Yuvraj Singh (21) as India scored 59 runs in the last 4.1 overs of the Group 2 game.

Kohli, who had also guided India to a six-wicket win over Pakistan with 55 not out, remained calm during his 15th T20 half-century after Shikhar Dhawan (13), Rohit Sharma (12) and Suresh Raina (10) failed to get going with India struggling at 49-3 in the eighth over.

Kohli batted himself in with Yuvraj and then took the initiative, smashing 19 off the 18th over bowled by James Faulkner and 16 off the 19th from Nathan Coulter-Nile to the delight of more than 25,000 fans.

Dhoni hit Faulkner for a four down the ground to complete a memorable win that set up the 2007 champions against 2012 winners West Indies in the semifinals in Mumbai.

Virat Kohli rated the innings among his top three. This is what he has to say at the post-match ceremony. No prizes for guessing the Man of the Match.

"Thank you. Firstly, I would like to thank the crowd for coming out and supporting us; the support today was unbelievable. They (the crowd) push you through tough times. This is what you play cricket for. You don't like these situations because they are tough. I don't know what to say, because I am overwhelmed by the situation we were in and to win from there was quite an effort. MS kept me calm in the end; I could have got overexcited. Overall good team effort and very happy with my personal contribution.

"Yuvraj wanted to see where he was going after he twisted his ankle. But he stuck in and a few boundaries helped, and then he decided to go for the team's cause. He perished but he made a great call. He wasn't able to push as you want him to push as a runner. He's such an explosive player that you don't want to have him at 60-70 percent. Dhoni and I have always run well between the wickets. We have a great understanding of where to hit the ball. You do that gym fitness for this. When I'm tired, I should be able to run as fast as when I'm on zero. All those trainings paid off today. This innings has to be in the Top 3. But I am a bit emotional, so I will put this on top."

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Ronaldinho to come out of retirement for a friendly in October

Ronaldinho to come out of retirement for a friendly in October (Getty Images)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Ronaldinho had retired from football in 2018
• Ronaldinho was barred from leaving Brazil regarding the matter of a 2015 court case
• Ronaldinho has won the FIFA World Player of the Year award twice

Brazilian football great Ronaldinho will temporarily come out of retirement to represent Colombia's Independiente Santa Fe in a friendly in October, the Bogota club has said.

Santa Fe posted a video on social media on Wednesday in which the 39-year-old confirmed he will take part in the match at the Campin on October 17 against yet-to-be-named opponents, reports Xinhua news agency.

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Three days later, Ronaldinho will play in the Colombian derby between America and Deportivo Cali, representing both clubs in each half, according to media reports.

As a two-time recipient of the FIFA World Player of the Year Award and a World Cup winner with Brazil in 2002, Ronaldinho retired from football in 2018.

It was not immediately clear though if Ronaldinho would be free to travel to Colombia for the matches. Brazil's Supreme Court this month upheld a decision to ban the former Barcelona attacker from leaving the country after he failed to pay a fine resulting from a 2015 court case.

Ronaldinho and his brother, Roberto Assis, were fined $2.3 million after being found guilty of building a fishing platform on the Guaiba river in southern Brazil without the necessary permits. The structure was located in a heritage-protected area.

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TikTok Virat Kohli makes a cameo in The Zoya Factor. Has Indian captain seen the viral video?

TikTok's Virat Kohli makes a cameo in the Zoya Factor Photo: Instagram/ Sonam Kapoor and Gaurav Arora

Just the way the Chinese video-sharing app TikTok became famous overnight, some of its users also became stars instantly. They have got a massive fan following. The most famous stars on the app, apart from celebrity users, are the ones who look like these celebrities. Farzi celebs, if you will.

With millions of followers, farzi Ajay Devgn, Gareebo ka Ranveer Singh and TikTok's Salman Khan have made it big on the app. Another TikTok star on this team is Gaurav Arora aka farzi Virat Kohli.

Gaurav Arora's resemblance to the captain of the Indian cricket team is uncanny. Due to these similarities, Gaurav Arora has made it big in life, and not just on TikTok. He was recently seen in a promotional video of the film The Zoya Factor, where he plays the role of the captain of the Indian cricket team.

Don't believe us? Watch the video here.

He can be seen as a spitting image of Virat Kohli, complete in the Indian skipper's jersey, in the dressing room. He kisses a pendant featuring Zoya on it, while he gets ready to go out and bat. The Zoya Factor is about India's obsession with cricket and luck, and how Zoya Solanki becomes India's lucky charm. Sonam Kapoor plays Zoya in The Zoya Factor, while Dulquer Salmaan plays her boyfriend and skipper of the Indian cricket team in the film.

As for Gaurav Arora, he is probably just in the promotional video, doing a Virat.

Gaurav Arora has also met many other stars, including Rajkummar Rao. Have a look at his Instagram and you will know about his fan following.

The only thing now we have to ask is, has Virat Kohli seen this video?

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ICC Rankings: Steve Smith extends his lead over Virat Kohli to 34 points

Smith has extended his lead over India skipper Kohli at the No. 1 spot (Reuters)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Steve Smith topped the ICC Test rankings for batsmen after his heroics in the 1st two Tests of the ongoing Ashes
• Pat Cummins has also maintained his top position in the bowlers rankings
• A number of Afghanistan players have also moved up in the rankings after their maiden victory over Bangladesh

Australian batsman Steve Smith has extended his lead over India skipper Virat Kohli at the number one spot in the ICC Test batsmen rankings. Smith now has a lead of 34 points over Kohli as the rankings were revealed on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old batsman scored 293 (211+82) runs in the fourth Test and as a result, he has further consolidated his position. With this, he is virtually assured of the top spot after the end of the five-match series between Australia and England.

Aussie pacer Pat Cummins also remains at the top spot in the bowlers rankings. The bowler took seven wickets in the recently concluded match and as a result, he has 63-rating points ahead of the second-placed Proteas bowler Kagiso Rabada.

India's Jasprit Bumrah is positioned at the third place. Josh Hazlewood has also entered the top ten for the first time in his career. He has moved to eighth place.

Afghanistan's 224-run win over Bangladesh in Chattogram has also resulted in major gains for their players. Afghan skipper Rashid Khan's player of the match effort of 11 for 104 has lifted him from 69th to 37th position in the bowling rankings.

Former Afghan captain Asghar Afghan's scores of 92 and 50 have taken him from 110th to 63rd position while Rahmat Shah's century in the first innings has helped him move from 93rd to 65th.

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