Former India star batter Gautam Gambhir on September 11 (Monday) was somewhat bemused after Virat Kohli was awarded the Man of the Match award in the Asia Cup Super 4s contest against Pakistan. The cricketer-turned-pundit appreciated the knock played by not just Kohli but KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as well but he would have liked Kuldeep Yadav to win the Player of the Match award for his outstanding spell of bowling against the Men in Green.
"For me, it's Kuldeep Yadav. Can't look beyond him. I know Virat got a hundred KL (Rahul) got a hundred. Rohit (Sharma), Shubman Gill got fifties but on a wicket like this where it was seaming swinging, if someone get five wickets in 8 overs, especially against Pakistan batters, who play spin really well, is a game-changing moment," Gambhir said on Star Sports.
"I can understand if it was Australia, South Africa or New Zealand because they don't play spin that well. This just shows the quality of the bowler. He beat batters in the air and he beat batters off the wicket as well. Going into the World Cup, that is great for Indian cricket because now you have two attacking pacers upfront and Kuldeep… Three bowlers who can take wickets at any stage of the game," the former batter added.
The left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep broke the backbone of Pakistan's batting line-up by picking a fantastic five-wicket haul at the R Premadasa Stadium. The 28-year-old bamboozled the Men in Green batters with his speed and variations, while he got good purchase from the wicket. He finished with remarkable figures of 5/25 in eight overs.
Kohli's contribution in the match was also significant as the maverick batter smashed his 47th ODI ton and completed 13,000 runs in 50-over international cricket. The stylish right-handed batter remained unbeaten on 122 runs off 94 balls which he scored with the help of nine fours and three sixes.
After a dominant performance, the Men in Blue trounced their arch-rivals by a historic margin of 228 runs and bagged two crucial points.
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