Published 09:18 IST, December 22nd 2019
Superfan with Kohli's records tattooed on his body recalls 'special moment' with skipper
As India head to Cuttack to play the decider against the West Indies, King Kohli's 31-year-old superfan Pintu Behra is more than just excited to see Kohli play
For a long time now, Indian cricket has seen a steady rise in the hardcore fan following and increasingly over the years, there have been players featuring the likes of MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh who have super fans. Indian skipper Virat Kohli had long joined the long list of Indian players who have an enormous fan following, with many looking up to the skipper as a role model. There have been multiple instances where cricketers have stepped out of their way and have interacted with these super fans. Virat Kohli, who is known to be very affectionate with his fans, had last greeted the 78-year-old superfan during the World Cup and had won hearts from all over. This time the Indian skipper met a fan after the pre-match press conference, in October after India's game against South Africa, who had Virat Kohli's jersey tattooed on his body, a sight that left the Indian skipper amused. Virat Kohli hugged the fan and was also seen closely observing the tattoos on the fan's body.
'Special moment'
As India head to Cuttack to play the decider against the West Indies, King Kohli's 31-year-old superfan Pintu Behra is more than just excited to see his superstar in action. The superfan recalled the special moment with Virat Kohli earlier in October and revealed that he was an ardent fan of skipper Kohli largely due to his batting style, as told to ANI. Behra revealed that he had saved up money to make tattoos of Kohli's records on his body and he did as a mark of respect for the batting maestro. The superfan said that while he attended all the matches played by the Men in Blue at home, he wished to watch India play at overseas and hoped that it would happen someday.
'We are one of the top sides'
"In the last three games, including the one at Wankhede and first two ODIs (of this series), we've batted well in the first half. Batting second isn't an issue, we're one of the top sides, if not the best while chasing. As a captain, nice to see the way we've batted first after losing the toss. It shows we're not reliant on the toss," Kohli said after the match.
"It's always good to get 40-50 extra and we want to bat the opposition out of the game. Rohit and KL were outstanding, the opening partnership set it up. Shreyas and Rishabh, the way they played, was outstanding," he added.
Updated 09:47 IST, December 22nd 2019