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'When You Have Played...': Gambhir Opens Up On Kohli's Weakness Against Leg Spin

Kaushik Kashyap

Gautam Gambhir Hailed Virat Kohli. [Source - ABCSport/x.com]Gautam Gambhir Hailed Virat Kohli. [Source - ABCSport/x.com]

India coach Gautam Gambhir was in full praise of Virat Kohli after his masterful innings against Australia in the Semi Final of the ongoing Champions Trophy. It was yet another chasing masterclass from the Indian number three which lit up the evening in Dubai and propelled India to another ICC Final.

The veteran scored a well composed 84 off 98 while chasing the 265-run target on what looked like a tricky wicket to bat on, with a place in the final on stakes. Earlier, India lost their openers quite early in the chase and Kohli had to take the charge once again.

The prolific batter, renowned for his effortless chasing prowess, anchored India to the cusp of victory without breaking a sweat. While every batter chipped, contributing with valuable runs, Kohli remained the major reason behind India getting past yet another knockout game in an ICC event.

Gambhir Hails Kohli's Chase Mastery

Speaking about Kohli's knock in the post match press conference, Gautam Gambhir was in full awe of Kohli's exceptional innings and acknowledged the fact that how the 36-year-old approaches his batting, adapting to the conditions so quickly to take India home in full control.

"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,” Gambhir said.

Weakness Vs Leg Spin? Gambhir Debunked The Myth

On being asked about Kohli's recent weakness against leg-spinners, Gambhir defended his compatriot and shed light on how normal it is for a player to get out to a certain type of bowler at some point of his career after playing this long.

“When you have played 300 ODIs, you will certainly end up getting out to a certain type of bowler. So, that is okay. He has got a hundred in this competition, he has got a eighty in this competition and eventually, when you have got runs in this competition, you will eventually get out to be some kind of a bowler,” Gambhir added.

Yes, Kohli has occasionally been dismissed by right-arm leg spinners in the recent past. He averaged just 7 against them from 2024 in ODIs before coming into the Champions Trophy. Moreover, Kohli did get out against Rishad Hossain and Adam Zampa in this tournament as well, but he comfortably facing a leg spinner never made him uncomfortable in taking India forward in this competition.