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Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir was all praise for star batter Virat Kohli following his match-winning chase masterclass against Australia in the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal, saying that he knows how to plan his runs and adapt to conditions really quickly.
Virat's masterclass knock of 84 during a run-chase of 265 in tricky conditions pushed India from 43/2 to a memorable four-wicket win, taking India to the final of the Champions Trophy, where they will be playing either New Zealand or South Africa. Speaking about Virat's knock, Gambhir said during the post-match presser, "He is a phenomenal one-day cricketer. He knows how to plan his runs, he knows how to plan, whether he is batting first or chasing and he knows that he adapts to the conditions really quickly and that is why experience and high-quality players are very important and it is the reason why he has got that kind of record in one day cricket and I hope he continues to do that in the future as well." On Virat's recent vulnerability to leg-spinners exposed during ODIs against Sri Lanka and England before the Champions Trophy, Gambhir defended Virat, saying that if one plays 300 ODIs for India, he will get out to some spinners, and it is okay. "I think he has got a hundred in this competition, he has got a ninety (eighty) in this competition and eventually, when you have got runs in this competition, you will eventually get out to some kind of a bowler. So rather than dissecting and bisecting that he has got out to leg spin and then when you have played 300 ODIs, you will eventually get out to certain kinds of bowlers and that is okay," he added. Gambhir also defended Virat and skipper Rohit Sharma, saying that despite them not being able to score much in Tests, there were never doubts over their ability in the 50-over format. "They have been exceptional players in this format. They have done it for so many years. So, we had no doubt that they are going to deliver come the big tournaments. And they have exactly done that in this competition. So, there was no doubt about their ability, about their experience and about the kind of experience they bring to the table and the kind of calibre and the kind of hunger they bring to the dressing room. So, there was no doubt about it what they could do and what they did in this competition," he concluded. Coming to the match, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. After an early wicket of Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (39 in 33 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) had a 50-run stand with Steve Smith. Smith carried on, with half-century stands against Marnus Labuschagne (29 in 36 balls, with two fours and a six) and Alex Carey (61 in 57 balls, with eight fours and a six). Carey was there till 48th over, untill a fine direct hit from Shreyas Iyer ended his knock. Australia was skittled out for 264 in 49.3 overs. Shami (3/48) was the top bowler for India, while Varun Chakravarthy (2/49) and Ravindra Jadeja (2/40) also unleashed a spin web. Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya took a wicket each. During the run chase, India lost skipper Rohit Sharma (28 in 29 balls, with three fours and a six) and Shubman Gill (8) early and were reduced to 43/2. From then on, a 91-run partnership between Virat and Shreyas Iyer (45 in 62 balls, with three fours) brought India back into the game. Virat also had a brief 44-run stand with Axar Patel (27 in 30 balls, with a four and six) and a 47-run stand with KL Rahul (42* in 34 balls, with two fours and two sixes). Hardik delivered a brief and fiery cameo, scoring 28 in 24 balls, with a four and three sixes, helping India seal a win. India finished at 267/6 in 48.1 overs. Nathan Ellis (2/48) and Adam Zampa (2/60) were the top bowlers for Australia. (ANI)
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