Netizens targeted 2011 World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir after he took an indirect dig at India talisman Virat Kohli during a conversation with cricket show host Mayanti Langer on Star Sports.

 

During a 2023 Cricket World Cup talk show, Mayanti Langer spoke at length about Virat Kohli's accolades and his chances of shattering Sachin Tendulkar's world record of 49 ODI centuries in the quadrennial event. 

 

Virat Kohli is right on the heels of Sachin Tendulkar with 48 tons, and many cricket pundits, including the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, have backed him to topple Sachin Tendulkar's milestone in the current edition of the World Cup.

 

Against this backdrop, Mayanti Langer was profusely speaking about Virat Kohli before turning her attention to India skipper Rohit Sharma.

 

At this stage, Gautam Gambhir replied: “Finally, you are talking about someone who has been brilliant in the Cricket World Cup 2023.”

 

However, Gautam Gambhir's remarks were not appreciated on social media as Virat Kohli's fans blasted him on X, previously Twitter.

 

Meanwhile, ‘Chokli' was among the top Twitter trends after India talisman Virat Kohli experienced a rare failure in the 2023 Cricket World Cup.

 

The Delhi-born cricketer, the leading run-scorer in this edition of the World Cup before the match against England, failed to trouble the scorers in Lucknow on Sunday.

 

Virat Kohli could not absorb the pressure and lost his wicket while trying to smash England pacer David Willey over the top.

 

His dismissal came after he could not open his account on the first eight deliveries of his knock and fell on the ninth after he attempted an aerial shot off David Willey.

 

It was Virat Kohli's 34th duck in international cricket, taking his tally at par with Sachin Tendulkar, to join the legendary cricketer on top of the list of Indians with the most zeros across formats.

 

Though Virat Kohli couldn't do much with the bat at the Ekana Stadium, he revealed the mantra behind his success on the field during the last fifteen years.

 

“If we talk about cricket, I had never thought of achieving all, as in where my career is and how god has blessed me such a career span and performances. I had always dreamt I'd do this, but I had never thought thing would pan out this way exactly, nobody can plan these things, the way your journey is going, and the way things unfold in front of you. I hadn't thought that I'd score so many hundreds and so many runs in these 12 years,” Virat Kohli told Star Sports.

 

“My only focus was that I should perform well for the team, and win games for the team from difficult situations. For that I mad quite a few changes along the way regarding discipline and lifestyle. I always had the drive in me, but I lacked the professionalism. Now I have a single-minded focus on how I want to play the game, and after that the results I've achieved is from playing that way itself,” he explained.

 

“The game recognizes effort. Honestly, that's what I have learnt from my career. I've played cricket by giving my hundred percent on the field, and the blessings I have got from it have been given to me by god, and I had never thought things would have unfolded this way,” Virat Kohli underlined.

 

Ex-Australian all-rounder Shane Watson praised Virat Kohli for his ability to soak up pressure and deliver the goods for the team in run-chases.

 

“People have got to realize it's not that easy to chase runs, but Kohli makes it look so easy. He's just done it for so long that he just makes it look so easy. It's challenging because you've got to work out who you're batting with, which balls to take down, which ones you got to be a bit more lower risk at,” Shane Watson told the tournament's host broadcasters.

 

“Virat has got that internal computer, which just work so efficiently, and he just knows what you need to do at the right time. It's not like it's just like a walk in the park. It's a World Cup game against an undefeated team which is in fine form and his internal computers does his thing. It's absolutely beautiful to watch,” he stressed.

 

On the other hand, Sunil Gavaskar predicted that Virat Kohli will break Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI tons in India's upcoming contest against South Africa.

“I don't know about the 49th but I know about the record-breaking 50th. Kohli will slam his 50th ODI century against South Africa at the Eden Gardens and what better occasion than his birthday? It's a sight when you slam a ton there because the Kolkata crowd gives you a standing ovation, and cheers for you, the air is filled with whistles and claps. It is a moment to savor for every batter,” Sunil Gavaskar signed off.