Mohammad Kaif hails Virat Kohli after his record-breaking century aga…

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has heaped praise on Virat Kohli following his match-winning knock of 139 off 88 balls against the West Indies, highlighting the star batter's excellent fitness, hunger, and consistency as vital lessons for the younger players.

"I still remember when Virat Kohli was out for consecutive ducks twice in Australia; people started commenting that Virat Kohli can no longer do it and should retire.

Since then, do you know what Virat Kohli has done? Since then, he has played 11 innings, scored over 900 runs, including four centuries, and I am talking about ODIs," Kaif said in a video shared on his X handle. betsport24.es

Kaif pointed out that Kohli achieved these staggering numbers despite playing around one match per month and stepping away from Tests and T20Is.

"In one year, he played only 11 innings, which means about one match per month. Normally, there aren't so few matches. Despite playing just one match a month, and despite not playing Tests or T20Is, look at the way he batted in this match. He is known as a boundary hitter, but in this match, Virat Kohli hit nine sixes." Kaif added.

Virat Kohli broke multiple records against West Indies

Kohli's explosive knock against the West Indies featured 10 fours and nine sixes, his most in a single ODI innings, powering India past a target of 296 after the West Indies posted a competitive total thanks to Justin Greaves' century and Kuldeep Yadav's four-wicket haul.

Partnering with captain Shubman Gill, who scored a brilliant 110, Kohli anchored yet another successful chase while rewriting multiple record books, including crossing the 15,000-run milestone in 50-over cricket and recording his 86th international century.

Kaif added that Kohli's unwavering commitment while playing for the Indian national team remains unmatched.

"Whenever he puts on the blue jersey for India, his ultimate goal is to remain not out and win the match. That is Virat Kohli. This is what you can learn from him. Many congratulations on reaching 15,000 runs, well done, Virat Kohli, and all the best for the future," Kaif concluded.

(With inputs from ANI)

On Sunday, September 27th, the Indian team played the first match of the ODI series against West Indies at the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram. The result of the match came in the host’s favor as they defeated their rivals by a big margin of 8 wickets.

Star Indian players Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill showed an explosive batting for the Men in Blue in this first ODI clash. This first clash became memorable for every cricket fan as the legendary player, Virat Kohli was seen in the Indian jersey after a while.

Speaking about his innings, Virat Kohli scored 139 runs unbeaten off 88 balls. In his knock, he smashed 10 fours and 9 sixes at a strike rate of 157. With this impressive batting performance, Virat Kohli smashed his 86th century and completed his 15,000 runs in ODI cricket as well.

On the other hand, Indian captain Shubman Gill also displayed a brilliant batting performance as he targeted West Indies’ bowling lineup and smashed an explosive hundred for his side in the opening clash of the ODI series. Speaking about his performance, Shubman Gill scored 110 runs off 108 balls, including 13 fours and one six.

Both batters gathered important runs and built a crucial partnership at the moment, which helped the Indian side to chase the target of 296 runs in just 41.4 overs.

After the match, Indian captain Shubman Gill posted a series of pictures on his social media handles, where he posted a picture with Virat Kohli and also posted his century celebration moments with the caption ‘Fiery innings hi kehde’

Fiery innings hi kehde pic.twitter.com/I73BhhxA26

— Shubman Gill (@ShubmanGill) September 27, 2026

After the match, Shubman Gill praised Virat Kohli for his heroic batting performance and completing his 15,000 ODI runs.

“He is enjoying the game a lot more, playing with freedom and enjoying the game and those are the effects of his batting. He always had the game; he always could clear the boundary at will and I think he is doing that right now,” Gill said.

“Someone like him who has won so many matches for the country, who has done it over and over again, you just let him be and you just want him to play however he feels like on the day, because when he plays well, he can win matches for you,” he added.

New Delhi [India], September 28 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Indian chess contingent on Monday for its strong showing at the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, where the country secured a silver medal in the Open section and a bronze in the women’s event.

“Congratulations to our Chess players! Their passion and determination are exemplary. May these successes motivate several more youngsters to play chess and excel,” PM Modi wrote on X.

Congratulations to our Chess players! Their passion and determination are exemplary.

May these successes motivate several more youngsters to play chess and excel. https://t.co/u1OyYs6LAj

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 28, 2026

India also retained the prestigious Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy, awarded to the country with the best combined performance in the Open and Women’s sections of the Chess Olympiad.

It was the third consecutive edition in which India won the trophy, following its success at the 2022 Olympiad in Chennai and the 2024 edition in Budapest, where the country secured gold medals in both the Open and women’s sections.

In the Open section, hosts Uzbekistan won the gold after defeating Ukraine 2.5-1.5 in the final round, while India settled for silver following a 2-2 draw against Hungary. Germany claimed bronze.

India and Germany finished level on 18 match points and 28.5 game points, with India taking the silver on the basis of its head-to-head result against Germany.

In the women’s section, China clinched gold after beating Vietnam 3-1, while Kazakhstan took silver. India secured bronze after drawing 2-2 against Georgia in the final round.

Savitha Shri played a crucial role for India by holding her position to secure a draw against Meri Arabidze, while Koneru Humpy registered a win on the top board.

India’s strong individual performances also contributed to its overall success. Savitha Shri won a gold medal, while Divya Deshmukh claimed silver and Vantika Agrawal and Koneru Humpy won bronze medals. In the Open section, D Gukesh took silver and R Praggnanandhaa won bronze.

The Gaprindashvili Trophy, created by FIDE in 1997 and named after legendary Georgian player Nona Gaprindashvili, reflects a federation’s combined strength and depth across the two sections of the Olympiad. (ANI)

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India captain Shreyas Iyer said torrential rain, limited practice and an awkward build-up will not be excuses when his side faces Afghanistan in the Asian Games quarter-final here on Monday, stressing that a professional team must be ready for any conditions.

Nagoya has been battered by relentless rain over the last two days, severely disrupting India’s preparations for the knockout stage. “We cannot cite the reason of rain because we are a bunch of professionals. Such hurdles keep coming and mentally we have to be prepared irrespective of what the situation is going to be,” Iyer said on Sunday.

“We got decent time for knocking and warm-up and we got some practice. Tomorrow we will try to adapt to the wicket quickly and see how the weather is,” he added.

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