India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup: Gautam Gambhir slams Virat Kohli over dismissal – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Virat Kohli returned to competitive action on Sunday, after over a month’s break, as India took on arch-rivals Pakistan in Match 2 of the 2022 Asia Cup tournament in the United Arab Emirates. Kohli was playing in his landmark 100^th T20I for India, and he showed glimpses of his old self with a 34-ball knock of 35, despite a nervy start early on.

Notably, not long after Kohli arrived at number three in the very first over, the former India skipper was dropped by slip fielder Fakhar Zaman off Naseem Shah’s delivery. However, Kohli built on his innings with some aggressive strokeplay, hitting three fours and a six.

Former India batter Gautam Gambhir, however, has expressed his criticism on the way Kohli got out on Sunday, describing his shot as a ‘nothing shot’.

Facing Mohammad Nawaz in the 10^th over, Kohli’s poor shot selection cost him dearly as he came charging down the ground, but failed to execute a proper loft and eventually ended up at the hands of long-off fielder Iftikhar Ahmed. Following Kohli’s dismissal, India were restricted to 53/3 in the 10^th over.

“He will be extremely disappointed because Rohit Sharma’s wicket had just fallen and after that if you play a shot like that, it is good a youngster did not play that shot. There would have been a lot of criticism if a youngster had played that kind of shot,” Gautam Gambhir said during a show on Star Sports.

“I am sure the number of runs he has scored in international cricket, when he sees this shot he will tell himself that the shot was not required. You played 34 balls and scored 35 runs, your captain had just gotten out, if you had built your innings a little more, things might have become easier,” the former Delhi cricketer added.

Prior to the Sunday game, Kohli had played in a limited-overs series against England in July this year, and has featured in just four of India’s 24 T20Is since the T20 World Cup in UAE last year.

The 33-year-old was rested for the white-ball series against West Indies and Zimbabwe, both away tours.

“It is T20 cricket, you think at times that you should back your instincts and you did that, but it is a frustrating shot because it was a nothing shot. If you were looking to hit a six and had gotten out, there is no problem with that, because you are trying to play a big shot,” continued the 40-year-old.

“Here neither did you try to hit a six nor did you find a gap. Literally, it was a nothing shot, probably that is why he will be even more disappointed,” the former opener opined.

Kohli has not scored an international century since November 2019. An all-round Hardik Pandya (3/25 and 33*) continued his resurgence as he led India to a thrilling five-wicket win against their rivals Pakistan on Sunday. Bhuvneshwar Kumar had taken four wickets after India asked Pakistan to bat, and Babar Azam’s men posted 147 on board. India chased down the target with just a ball to spare with seven runs needed from the final over.

India’s next assignment in the Asia Cup is their final group game against Hong Kong on 31 July before the Super Four stage commences on 3 September.

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