‘There can’t be a better finisher than Virat Kohli’ – Gautam Gambhir praises Virat Kohli for his knock against New Zealand in ODI World Cup 2023

India’s former opening batsman Gautam Gambhir recently appreciated Virat Kohli for sticking to the field time and again in crucial moments for the Indian cricket team and leading the team towards victory. India recently defeated New Zealand by five wickets in the ODI World Cup 2023 after 20 years of being defeated by the Kiwis in the major Cricket tournaments. 

Gautam Gambhir believes people usually look at the middle-order batsman playing the role of the finisher, while a finisher is a person who usually finishes the game for the team and style, which has been perfectly portrayed by Virat Kohli for over a decade. Virat Kohli got out at a score of 95 and couldn’t hit the winning runs but left India in a winning position against New Zealand by fortunately missing a century. 

“I have never understood why the finisher’s tag is given only to Nos. 5 to 7. An opener can also be a finisher. A No. 11 can also be a finisher. This has just been created by the media. There was probably no finisher 10 years ago. There can’t be a better finisher than Virat Kohli because of the number of games he has won. So don’t call only the Nos. 5, 6 and 7 as finishers. Whoever scores the last run is a finisher”, said Gautam Gambhir. 

Gautam Gambhir on Virat Kohli’s role as a finisher for the Indian team in ODI World Cup

“Think about how obsessed we are with a hundred that we have stopped remembering the 95-run knock. He has won the match. It doesn’t matter if it was going to be the 49th or 100th hundred. Praise him because he won you the match. Zero to 95 is a big journey. Praise him because of the pressure under which he batted. We need to say repeatedly that the obsession with stats needs to end if India has to win the World Cup”, added Gambhir. 

In the post-match ceremony Rohit Sharma also congratulated Virat Kohli for his knock and appreciated him for being present on the field for the team time and again, he said, “He (Kohli) has done this for us for so many years. He backed himself to do the job. Kohli and Jadeja pulled us back when we lost a few wickets in the middle. The fielding is something we pride ourselves on. Today the fielding wasn’t clinical. Good start to the tournament. The job is half done. Important to stay balanced. Not to think too far ahead. Important to stay in the present. Shami took the opportunity with both hands. He has experience in these conditions and is a class bowler. At one stage, we were looking at 300 plus. Credit to our bowlers at the back end.”