Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir lauded Virat Kohli after his 95-run knock helped the hosts chase down 274 with two overs to spare. Gambhir called Kohli a “chase master” and classified him as a finisher. He also said that the definition of a finisher is not someone who necessarily bats in the middle or lower-middle order.
"There is no better finisher than Virat Kohli. A finisher is not only those who bat at no.5 or no.7 - he is a chase master," Gambhir told Star Sports.
Kohli missed his 49th ODI century by just five runs. He is currently the leading run-scorer of the tournament with 354 runs from five innings at an average of 118 including one century and three fifties.
Gambhir also praised Indian skipper Rohit Sharma for his intent early on in the run chase. Rohit put the Kiwi new ball bowlers under pressure by smashing them all over the park. He hit four sixes and as many fours in his 40-ball 46 before getting dismissed by Lockie Ferguson.
“Rohit Sharma is not making runs, he is giving statement by his aggressive batting,” Gambhir said.
Earlier, Mohammed Shami made a statement with a five-wicket haul in his first match of the tournament. He struck with the new ball straightaway, and broke the third-wicket partnership between Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra. Then, he cleaned up the tail to restrict New Zealand to 273 despite Mitchell scoring a century.
Gambhir feels that Shami should have been part of India’s playing XI since the start of the World Cup.
“The team management has a lot of guts to bench Mohammed Shami. He should have been part of the playing XI from the start. Today, India played with just five bowlers in Dharamsala which is a difficult venue for bowlers. Despite that if you can take a fifer it shows the kind of talent he has,” the 42-year-old said.
India registered their fifth win on the trot in World Cup 2023. This was their first win over New Zealand in ICC events in 20 years. Also, India have won all their matches in World Cup while chasing.
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