Gautam Gambhir is renowned for putting up an alternative viewpoint. Few people, like the former India opener, have the ability to start a discussion with strong opinions. That was demonstrated by Gambhir’s recent remark following the Asia Cup Super 4 match between Pakistan and India in Colombo.
When Gambhir was asked to choose his Player of the Match during the post-match broadcast on Star Sports after India defeated Pakistan by a score of 228 runs, registering their largest ODI victory (in terms of runs).
Gambhir chose Kuldeep Yadav instead of Virat Kohli or KL Rahul. Kohli, however, was victorious in the end. He received Player of the Match honours for his unbeaten 122-run innings.
Naturally, after the post-match presentation, Gambhir’s remarks began to garner greater attention.
Several records were broken on Monday by Kohli. He broke Hashim Amla’s record for most consecutive ODI centuries at a venue (4) and became the fastest player to 13000 ODI runs. He also moved closer to matching Sachin Tendulkar’s (49) all-time record for ODI centuries.
India’s joint-highest ODI total of 356 against Pakistan was largely made possible by his unbroken 233-run stand with KL Rahul, who also played a magnificent 111*. This partnership was India’s best in the Asia Cup.
It was safe to state that India eliminated Pakistan from the match in that regard.
And Kohli, as he has done numerous times before, was the mastermind behind that. When you add in the heat and the calibre of the Pakistani bowlers, Kohli’s innings with a strike rate of 147 was unquestionably deserving of Player of the Match honours.
Gambhir, though, had a different opinion. He chose left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who defeated Pakistan for his first five-wicket haul and completely eliminated their chances of chasing the score.
Kuldeep fooled Pakistan batsmen, who are typically adept spinners, both in the air and off the pitch, according to Gambhir, who claimed that he “can’t look beyond Kuldeep” as the Player of the Match.
“It’s Kuldeep Yadav for me. cannot see past him. I am aware that KL (Rahul) scored 100 while Virat scored 100. Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma both scored fifty runs, but on a surface like this when the ball was swinging and seaming, getting five wickets in eight overs—especially when facing spin-savvy Pakistani hitters—can change the course of a match. Since they don’t play spin well, I could understand if it was Australia, South Africa, or New Zealand. Simply said, this demonstrates the bowler’s calibre. He outplayed batsmen on the wicket as well as in the air.”
That’s fantastic for Indian cricket heading into the World Cup because you now have Kuldeep and two attacking pacers up front. “Three bowlers who are capable of scoring at any point in the game,” remarked Gambhir.
“You always remember it if you take 5 wickets against a big team. I’ll always remember that I had five wickets against Pakistan once I stop playing cricket. This is important because winning games against teams that play good spin gives you a lot of motivation, according to Kuldeep.
