Cricket ODI World Cup 2023

'You got to give credit to Shreyas Iyer for the... - Gautam Gambhir's big statement on Virat Kohli's intent during IND vs SA ODI World Cup 2023 match

With his 49th ODI century, Virat Kohli equalled the historic world record of former legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar, who also had 49 ODI centuries in his career.

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Mathew K
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Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli (File Photo, Twitter)

Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli (File Photo, Twitter)

Former Indian opener and now the commentator Gautam Gambhir came up with a big statement about the intent of former skipper and batting great, Virat Kohli during the India vs South Africa match in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. Notably, a lot of cricket experts and fans talked about Kohli’s century as he scored 101 runs off 120 balls.

It was also termed as a slow knock by a few cricket experts but some others also reckoned that it was the need of the hour for Team India as the surface was quite tough to survive on, for the batters at the beginning of the first innings when India opted to bat after winning the toss.

"I believe there were already enough runs on the board." - Gautam Gambhir on Virat Kohli's knock

Meanwhile, Gautam Gambhir spoke briefly about the intent and approach of Virat Kohli during the 49th ODI century of his career. The former also praised star Indian middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer for his brilliant knock and a crucial partnership for the third wicket with Virat Kohli.

“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,” said Gambhir during an exclusive conversation with Sportskeeda.

“You got to give credit to Shreyas Iyer for the way he kept taking chances and took the pressure off Virat Kohli. Both batted 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,” he added later.

Now, Virat Kohli will be in action for Team India against the Netherlands in the last league match of their ODI World Cup 2023 campaign. Both teams will play this match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, November 12. 

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