Gautam Gambhir, days after hailing Virat Kohli for equaling Sachin Tendulkar’s most ODI centuries record, said that his knock could have hurt Team India against South Africa at the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
Kohli smashed an unbeaten 101 off 121 balls to help Team India post 326/5 on the board in a World Cup 2023 match against South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 5.
With this knock, the dashing right-hander equaled Tendulkar’s record of most centuries (49) in ODI cricket.
Well, Gambhir said that the Indian cricket team had enough runs for Kohli to slow down ahead of his historic milestone, but if the pitch at Eden Gardens was good for batting, the plan could have backfired. The 2011 World Cup winner said Kohli’s approach could have hurt India against the Proteas.
Gautam Gambhir was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda, “It was important for Kohli to bat deep and I feel it was just the last 5-6 overs where he slowed down a bit, maybe because he was nearing a century. But I believe there were already enough runs on the board. It could have hurt India if they were batting on a good pitch.”
Gambhir also lauded Shreyas Iyer for his 77 off 87 balls against South Africa, saying Mumbaikar’s innings helped Kohli to play freely in Kolkata. He noted, “You got to give credit to Shreyas Iyer for the way he kept taking chances and took the pressure off Virat Kohli.”
The commentator signed off by saying, “Both batted really well in the middle as the best time to bat was with the new ball. They expertly negotiated Keshav Maharaj and giving him just one wicket when Jadeja picked five was brilliant.”
Notably, India will be next seen in the World Cup 2023 against the Netherlands on November 12.
