Talismanic batter Virat Kohli faced brutal trolling from his haters after a second-string India made history at the Asian Games during the weekend.
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On Saturday, Ruturaj Gaikwad and his boys clinched the country's maiden gold medal in men's cricket in the quadrennial competition.
The landmark feat came in Hangzhou after the final between India and Afghanistan in the Chinese city was interrupted by heavy showers, and the Men in Blue were declared the winners due to their higher seeding in Asia's greatest multi-sports spectacle.
After India won the toss and opted to bowl first, Afghanistan found themselves in a deep hole at 12/3 after Zubaid Akbari (5), Mohammad Shahzad (4), and Noor Ali Zadran (1) got out in the first four overs of their essay.
However, Shahidullah's unbeaten 49 off 43 deliveries helped them to 112/5 in 18.2 overs when heavy rain began pouring down at the Zhejiang University of Technology Cricket Field, and the umpires decided to call off the game.
Notably, the 2023 Asian Games were historic for the Indian men's and women's cricket teams.
Before the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side's success, the Indian women's cricket team bagged the yellow metal, giving the South Asian nation their first-ever gold medal at the continental showpiece event.
Interestingly, the Indians failed to win a medal at the previous editions of the Asian Games after cricket was inducted into the prestigious competition in 2010.
With India's second-string side claiming the gold medal at the Asian Games, the focus would shift to the Rohit Sharma-led team. Hosts India will begin their ICC Cricket World Cup campaign against Australia in Chennai on Sunday.
According to former India opener Gautam Gambhir, who played a crucial role in the team's 2011 World Cup victory, Rohit Sharma and his men would have to beat Australia to reclaim the title this year.
“Look, I have always said this, and there is no doubt in this, that if you want to win the World Cup, then you have to beat Australia. In 2007 when we won the World Cup, we defeated Australia in the semifinal. In 2011 when we won the World Cup, we beat Australia in the quarterfinal. Australia is the strongest team in any ICC tournament. Remove the ranking, the ranking does not matter,” Gautam Gambhir said on Star Sports.
“You can be in any position in the rankings, but Australia, when it comes to those big tournaments, the World Cups, I think Australia has got the players, they have got the self-belief, Australia has the ability to play those big moments really well. And you can see this, the two World Cups that India won, we had to beat Australia in the knockout stage two times. And the World Cups that we have lost, in 2015 we lost to Australia. So I believe that if we have to win the World Cup this year, Australia is going to be the most important game, and we start against Australia, so there is nothing better than that. So beating Australia is very, very important,” the former India batter added.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli's childhood coach, Raj Kumar Sharma, praised his ward for devoting his life to cricket before emphasizing that the former India captain would be eager to lift another World Cup trophy come November.
“Sachin Tendulkar was a genius who inspired thousands of youngsters to look at cricket as a career. Virat followed in his footsteps by working very hard with the devotion of a master craftsman. I call him a craftsman because he has set new benchmarks and crafted one great innings after another every year,” Raj Kumar Sharma told an Indian sports outlet.
“Virat never came late for the nets. He looked after his gear so well. He would not like stains on his pads and bats. He was always anxious to dominate. I worried for him sometimes when he insisted on playing in the senior group. I had to admonish him a few times, but then I realized he was ready to take guard at the next level. I gradually promoted him to play with the big boys, and he was soon towering above them with some amazingly consistent performances,” he elaborated.
“He wanted to do everything: bat, bowl, and field. During a local under-15 game at the Picnic Hut ground, he was 12, and our team was in a spot of trouble, chasing a total of 220-230. He said, ‘Let me bat up the order, sir'… So, we promoted him, and he took us over the line by scoring a century. We won comfortably. Even though he always batted at no. 4, he'll pad up with the openers and will restlessly wait for his turn to go in,” Raj Kumar Sharma recalled.
“I remember a session we had before the tour to England in 2019. He had failed on the previous trip in 2014 [134 runs in five Tests]. I organized a grassy pitch and got hold of some bowlers who swung the ball well. We focused on how to leave the ball. I also advised him not to try and play every ball, as is his habit,” the reputed cricket coach revealed.
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