Gautam Gambhir’s sharp remark on Virat Kohli after India seal nervy win vs AUS: ‘Lot of young cricketers will learn’
With Virat Kohli getting Team India out of trouble after a disastrous start to their run chase against Australia in the ICC World Cup 2023, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir credited the batting icon for absorbing pressure in the low-scoring thriller at Chepauk. Half-centuries from KL Rahul and run machine Kohli powered Rohit Sharma’s Team India to a memorable six-wicket win over the five-time champions at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Gambhir shared his views about Kohli’s knock against Australia(AFP-ANI)
Chasing a 200-run target in the low-scoring encounter at Chepauk, India suffered a mini-batting collapse as openers Rohit, Ishan Kishan and premier batter Shreyas Iyer failed to open their respective accounts. For the first time in the history of One Day International (ODI) cricket, three of India’s top four batters were dismissed for a duck. Australia also forced India to register its second-lowest powerplay score in a World Cup match.
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Pulling the crestfallen Indian side out of choppy waters, Kohli played a masterful knock of 85 to shatter multiple records. Dropped on 12 by Mitchell Marsh, the 34-year-old recorded a match-changing 165-run stand with an on-song Rahul to seal India’s first win of the 2023 World Cup. Speaking to Star Sports after India’s impressive win over Pat Cummins’ men, former India opener Gambhir opined that Kohli served youngsters a valuable lesson on how to absorb pressure by inspiring India to a comfortable win.
‘Young cricketers coming through will learn from Kohli’
“Imagine when you’re 2 or 3 down for two. You can’t go out there and hit a long ball. You will still need to be able to absorb the pressure and try and rotate those strikes. And I’m sure these young cricketers coming through will learn from Virat Kohli. That is very important and that is why he’s so consistent,” Gambhir said.
Kohli smashed Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing record in ICC events. The former India skipper also notched up his highest score in a successful run chase at the World Cup. Kohli smashed 85 off 116 balls while Rahul remained unbeaten on 97 off 115 balls against Australia at Chepauk.
“And I’m sure I think a lot of these young cricketers in the dressing room will learn the importance of fitness, the importance of running between the wicket and the importance of how to rotate strike in the middle as well, because with this new format with T20 cricket, a lot of these new guys want to keep hitting the ball out of the ground,” Gambhir added.
