Virat Kohli’s match-winning innings in Vadodara reignited debate over the “easy ODI” narrative, especially after his brother Vikas Kohli took a subtle dig at former India cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar. Following India’s first ODI victory against New Zealand, Vikas posted on Threads: “Such an easy format isn’t it… someone gave his gyaan few days back… easier said than done,” widely interpreted as a response to Manjrekar’s earlier remarks.

On January 6, Manjrekar had claimed that the ODI format was easier for top-order batters, arguing that attacking fields were limited and bowling threats reduced compared to Test cricket. He cited historical examples of players preferring lower-order positions in Tests but eagerly opening in ODIs, suggesting the format offered an advantage to top-order batters.

Vikas Kohli defending his brother is not new; he has previously responded to Manjrekar’s criticism during the IPL over Virat’s strike rate and approach. This response followed Kohli’s high-pressure 93-run innings off 91 balls, which guided India to a successful chase of 301 against New Zealand. Kohli was dismissed just short of a century but earned the Player of the Match award.

The innings also brought major milestones: Kohli reached 28,000 international runs, becoming the fastest to do so in 624 innings—20 fewer than Sachin Tendulkar—and surpassed Kumar Sangakkara to move into second place on the all-time international run-scorers list, behind only Tendulkar.