Former India captain Kapil Dev has hailed star batter Virat Kohli for his ‘unmatched’ temperament after he scored a match-winning knock against Australia in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy. Once again, Kohli justified his ‘chase master’ tag, smashing 84 as India achieved the target of 265 on a tricky track in Dubai. During a recent interaction, Kapil, who led India to their first-ever ODI World Cup title in 1983, hailed Kohli for his hunger, and explained why the latter is one step ahead of everyone else when it comes to chasing tricky targets.
“I think he has the temperament to take up a bigger challenge, and that is where he gets the energy. He likes to play like that and very few cricketers have that temperament. But end of the day, he has the talent and the class on how to win matches. We know Dhoni used to do that, but Kohli is one step ahead of anybody else,” Kapil Dev told India Today.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir appreciated the way Kohli planned his chase.
“He is a phenomenal one-day cricketer. He knows how to plan whether he is batting first or chasing and he adapts to the conditions really quickly and that is why experience and high-quality players are very important,” Gambhir pointed out.
“That 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,” said Gambhir.
Steve Smith, a contemporary of Kohli with whom he had a few run-ins and also shared many highs, shed light on how the Indian works his way while chasing a target.
“He’s arguably the best chaser the game has seen. He’s done it numerous times against us. He controls the tempo of the game really well, plays to his strengths and takes the game deep. I thought he played really well again,” said Smith.
India will take on New Zealand in the final of the Champions Trophy on Sunday in Dubai. The two teams had met during the group stage at the same venue, a game which India won comfortably in the end.
Asked to predict the results of the final, Kapil added: “India have more chances, but never rule out any other team in the Champions Trophy.”
(With PTI Inputs)
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