India's cricket captain Virat Kohli has in the past hailed Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo as an "absolute legend" and thanked him for being his inspiration and now former England captain Nasser Hussain has compared Kohli to the Real Madrid star, saying the Indian captain is pushing the boundary and raising the bar in everything he does. Hussain and a number of former and current players saluted Kohli who slammed a splendid century in the first one-day international he led India as a full-time captain to drive his team home from a precarious situation against England at Pune on Sunday (January 15).
Kohli recently spoke in favour of Ronaldo again and this time he chose him over Messi (though it was not a prejudice but an admiration for the one who works hard to compete with the best) and it in a way showed that the ace cricketer has a similarity with the Portuguese football skipper as he, too, works very hard behind the scenes to better his game and perform consistently well and keep defying all logic.
Kohli, whose broad bat seems to get even broader while chasing, is a man of positive thinking. When he takes stance in the middle, his only focus remains on taking his side home, no matter what the circumstances are. On Sunday, at a time when India were reeling at 63 for 4 while chasing a humongous 351 to win, Kohli scored 122 off 105 balls and his 200-run partnership with youngster Kedar Jadhav, another centurion, saw the team eventually winning the match with almost two overs to spare. To say it was incredible is an understatement, isn't it?
Ronaldo, too, had a similar outing in the final of the Club World Cup final against Japan's Kashima Antlers in December when he slammed a hat-trick to give his team a 4-2 win after trailing 1-2 against the Asian opponents. The star's performance was also not affected by a tax-related controversy that did the rounds around the same time.
This shows champions players -- be it in different sports -- think and do alike.
Top players take responsibility and inspires his team mates to win the match, and Ronaldo also did the same for Portugal, winning Euro 2016. Though Ronaldo might have been injured midway during the final of the competition, Ronaldo was the one, who took it in his own to help his nation reach the finals.
During the Euro 2016 title-decider, the skipper inspired his team via his emotional support from the touchline. He was full of emotions after Portugal won Euro 2016. There is lot of similarities between Kohli and Ronaldo, the passion they have for the game, and they are not afraid to show it.
So, it does not come as much surprise when Hussain compares Kohli to Ronaldo. The former English captain sang praise for Kohli after his incredible knock in Pune on Sunday.
"I read out here that he prefers Ronaldo to [Lionel] Messi. Messi was given a lot of natural ability but he prefers Ronaldo, who has made himself the footballer that he is and pushed himself on and off football pitch - and that is what Kohli has done in cricketing terms," Sky Sports quoted Hussain as saying.
"I think what Kohli is trying to do is push the boundary and raise the bar of everything he does. No-one says to him 'being captain in three forms is too much for you', no one says 'you can chase 300 but can you chase 350 from 63-4?. Here is a bloke who is supremely talented but is constantly trying to tell himself and push himself to be better and better. That is a dangerous combination."
