He Will Be A Little Bit Disappointed For Sure: Sunil Gavaskar On Virat Kohli Missing Out On Another Hundred

Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar has reckoned that skipper Virat Kohli would be disappointed that he once failed to convert his 50 into a hundred.

Virat Kohli has now gone 489 days without scoring an international ton. The Indian skipper notched up his fourth consecutive half-century in ODI cricket but he once again failed to convert his start into a three-figure score.

Virat Kohli, who stitched a valuable 121-run-stand with KL Rahul for the third wicket, was dismissed for a 79-ball 66 after he nicked off to Jos Buttler against his nemesis, Adil Rashid.

“Well, he will be disappointed to an extent. Because when you are batting so well, have done the hard work, you have got to 60. The batsman of that caliber of that greatness will always go on to get three-figure innings. He hasn’t been able to quite get that,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

 

Virat Kohli will be happy that he is building a partnership: Sunil Gavaskar

That said, Virat Kohli’s 121-run-stand with KL Rahul laid the ideal platform for the likes of Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya to launch a stunning counterattack on the English bowlers at the backend of the Indian innings.

Rishabh Pant smashed a whirlwind 40-ball 77 while Hardik Pandya racked up a 16-ball 35 as India hammered 126 runs in the last 10 overs to eventually post 336 in 50 overs.

Gavaskar added that while Virat Kohli would be disappointed with the fact that he couldn’t score a 100, he’ll be happy that he is laying an ideal platform for his power-hitters at the backend.

“He (Kohli) will be happy that he is building a partnership. That England, despite getting early wickets have not been able to go through the batting line-up. He is helping the team get a platform on which the likes of Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Krunal Pandya can play the big shots and take India past 300,” Gavaskar said.

“He is making his contribution as a batsman, no question about it. But there will still be a little bit of disappointment. Every batsman has that. If you get out for 5, 6 in the early stages, you know you got out. You can’t do much,” he added.

“But when you get to 50-60, every batsman in the world wants to get to a hundred. Great batsmen want to get a big 100, and he is not getting it. So he will be a little bit disappointed for sure,” Sunil Gavaskar signed off.

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