Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has been left speechless after watching Virat Kohli’s stunning innings if 154 runs in the third ODI against New Zealand. Chasing 286 to win the match, India were in a spot of bother after losing both of its openers on 41 but Kohli along with captain MS Dhoni added 151 runs for the third wicket to set the platform for the win. Dhoni was dismissed after a well-made 80 but Kohli stayed till the end to take India home.
In the process, he also equaled Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 14 hundreds in successful run chases in the history of ODI cricket.
Talking to India Today, Ganguly said: “It’s remarkable. It’s such a pleasure to see him bat. We keep talking good things about him. I have lost all adjectives about him. It’s just another good knock. Great knock to be honest. I wish he keeps playing like this.”
When Ganguly was asked about the best finisher in world cricket right now, he said: “By far Virat Kohli, there’s no doubt about it. He not just scores hundreds at No.3, he even wins matches. He gets hundreds in all conditions whether it’s in Australia, England or South Africa. There’s no comparison with MS Dhoni. These two are the best ODI players along with Rohit Sharma in the squad. I think Kohli is miles ahead of others in terms of his average, in terms of winning, in terms of scoring runs in all conditions. I don’t think Dhoni has got a hundred away from sub-continent in ODI but Kohli has got hundreds in all conditions. I think Rohit has also got hundred in Australia but none of them will be at par with Kohli at the moment.”
Dhoni, who said before the series that he will promote himself in the batting order and did that in the first three matches. While he failed to get a big score in the first two matches, he finally came good with the bat in the third ODI in which he scored 80. Talking about Dhoni’s new batting position, Ganguly said:“Not sure if he continues to bat at No.4. Anil Kumble needs to push him up the order because it makes life lot easier for him and people coming down the order. He hasn’t got ODI hundred for three years and the reason is he bats just 40-50 balls. I think he not only undermines his talent but also undermines his team’s capacity of winning games.”
India has been trying different combination in the ODI format and when the former skipper was asked about a winning combination, he said: “If you see the innings of Kohli and Dhoni and none of them was under any pressure because both were scoring runs at will. That’s what happens when your two best one day players are at the crease. For me, the Indian batting should be Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane. Take the pressure up front.”