On the night when Virat Kohli ended the jinx and smashed his long-awaited 71st century in international cricket, the 33-year-old's former teammate Gautam Gambhir made a statement after the match that angered several Kohli supporters. While lauding Kohli's sensational innings, the former India opener affirmed that no other Indian cricketer 'would have survived' without scoring a century for such an elongated period of time.
"Look he (Virat Kohli) has to realise that it has been three years (1,019 days), not just three months. Three years is a very long time. I am not going to be critical of him but he has earned this backing as he has scored loads of runs in the past. I don't think any younger player would have survived in international cricket had they not got a 100 in the last three years. This eventually had to happen and it has happened just at the right time. But let's be fair, I don't think anyone would have survived for this long," Gambhir told host broadcaster Star Sports after the match between India and Afghanistan on September 8 (Thursday).
The maverick Indian batter played an imperious knock of 122 not out in just 61 balls. During his innings, the stylish right-handed batter smacked 12 fours and six. On the back of Kohli's thunderous knock and Bhuvneshwar Kumar's stunning spell of bowling (5/4) in four overs, the Men in Blue defeated Afghanistan by 101 runs in the dead rubber in Asia Cup 2022.
