Great to see him back in the runs: Ponting speaks on Kohli's knock versus Pakistan 

Kohli scored unbeaten 59 runs vs Hong Kong (PC: Twitter/@imVkohli)

Amidst a tumultuous run, India batter Virat Kohli found his way back among runs as his sluggish, albeit vital knock against Pakistan helped in piecing out a victory for his team.

With KL Rahul walking back for a duck, Kohli came in early as the scare of a collapse loomed large. However, India's No. 3 looked fidgety at the start which also resulted in a dropped chance, he pulled India out of the fire in partnership with skipper Rohit Sharma.

On a pitch that largely exploited batters' nemesis, Kohli scored a 35-run knock while playing most of Naseem Shah's new-ball spell.

Commenting on this, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting seemed pleased with the way Kohli went about in his first innings since a recent month-long break. 

'No surprise that he did it in a run chase'

Ponting cited on the 33-year-old's impeccable record in the run-chases, stating how he usually thrives in the second innings.

"First and foremost, great to see him back in the runs. No surprise that he did it in a run chase. We’ve always known that about him. His record suggests he is better when his team is chasing runs. When I saw his runs and then I’ve read on social media over the last few days, it sounded like he found himself in quite a dark place. Like a lot of us men, he wasn’t willing to talk about it and share it," Ponting said as quoted on the ICC Review.

Further, the Aussie hoped to see Kohli at his best in the upcoming T20 World Cup, making his mark as one of top-scorers in the tournament.

"It sounds like when he has started to share, started to talk, it might have just freed him up a bit and he started to feel better about himself again. I just hope that we see him back at his best and in the World Cup. I’d rather see Virat come out here (in Australia) and be one of the leading players in the tournament, but just make sure he doesn’t score many runs against Australia when they play!" the two-time World Cup winner added.

Kohli hits form

After his crucial innings against Pakistan, Kohli returned back with another solid show with the bat in the Hong Kong fixture. The Delhi-born scored a 44-ball 59 as Hong Kong lost the match by 40 runs.

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