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Virat Kohli capped off India’s disappointing campaign in Asia Cup 2022 in magnificent fashion as he scored his historic 71st international century against Afghanistan as Men in Blue registered a 101-run victory. Kohli opened the innings along with stand-in India captain KL Rahul as Rohit Sharma was rested for this fixture. 


After the match, KL Rahul, who hasn’t been in the best of form since his return from injury, was questioned in the press conference if Kohli should be considered as an opening batter after his century against Afghanistan and his success in the position for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. 


Reacting to this query with a sheepish smile, Rahul asked the reporter whether he should now just sit out. He further went on to praise Kohli for his incredible performance. He said,“Toh Mein Kya Khud Baith Jaau fir? (Shall I bench myself then). Obviously, Virat Kohli scoring run is a huge bonus for the team, the way he played today. I know he is very very pleased with the way he batted today.” 


Rahul then outlined the efforts taken by his former captain. He said, “He has been working on his game for the last 2-3 series and that worked beautifully today and as a team, it is important that every player before going to the World Cup get some time in the middle. If you play 2-3 innings like that, your confidence will be high then it gives you the best chance to be our best selves in the World Cup, so really happy that he could play that way.”


The Rahul-Kohli duo stitched up an incredible 119-run opening partnership, where Rahul scored 62 runs off 41 balls. In the second innings, India bundled out Afghanistan for 111 runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar had a career-best bowling performance as he took five wickets while giving away four runs. 


KL Rahul summed up the Indian team's performance in the Asia Cup as talked about the disappointments and the positives from the tournament. He then addressed how the learning from this event will be handy in the upcoming T20 World Cup.


He said, "We came into this tournament wanting to play the final and winning the big tournaments but it didn't go our way, we take the positives. We have been challenged and it is time to sit back and reflect. Losing is not great but sometimes you have to take it part of the journey, our vision is the World Cup and hopefully, the learnings will help us for the World Cup."