The form is temporary, but class is permanent; Jayawardene praises Kohli after his historic milestone

New Delhi, Nov 3

Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene heaped praise on Virat Kohli, who on Wednesday surpassed him to become the all-time leading run-scorer in the Men's T20 World Cup history during India's Super 12 match against Bangladesh in Adelaide.

Kohli reached the milestone when he crossed 16 runs in the seventh over of India's innings, going Jayawardene's record tally of 1016 runs. After his match-winning knock (64 not out off 44) versus Bangladesh, the Indian batter now has 1065 runs with an average of 88.75 and a strike rate of more than 132.46 in T20 World Cups.

Playing in his fifth T20 World Cup, the 33-year-old became the competition's highest run-getter in only his 23rd innings, having scored 12 half-centuries. In comparison, Jayawardene had played 31 innings to set his record, though he faced fewer balls (754 balls) than Kohli did (773).

"Records are meant to be broken. Someone was always going to break my record, and it's you, Virat. Brilliant, mate, congratulations. You've always been a warrior," Jayawardene said in a video shared by the ICC.

"Form is temporary, but class is permanent. Very well done, buddy," he added.

The former India skipper is currently the highest run-scorer at the ongoing T20 World Cup with 220 runs, including three half-centuries in four matches.

"It was a closer game than we would have liked. It was another good day with the bat. I am happy the World Cup is in Australia because I can play my shots here. I love playing in Adelaide. I feel at home and want to keep batting," said Kohli, who was named man of the match.

After beating Bangladesh, India will now face Zimbabwe in their last Super 12 game on Sunday.

--IANS