Rajkumar Sharma lauds Virat Kohli after match-winning knock against Australia, says he is a big-match player

Virat Kohli’s childhood Rajkumar Sharma hailed Virat Kohli after his match-winning knock against Australia in the semifinal of the Champions Trophy at Dubai on Tuesday. Sharma proudly said that his pupil is a big-match player and he once again proved his mettle against the Aussies.

Kohli scored a match-winning knock of 84 runs off just 98 balls in the run-chase of 265. The talisman stitched a crucial alliance of 91 runs with Shreyas Iyer for the third wicket after India lost two early wickets of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill.

The veteran also added crucial alliances with Axar Patel and KL Rahul to get India close to the target.

Speaking to ANI, Rajkumar Sharma said, “He is called King Kohli because I have always said that he is ‘bade match ka bada player’ (He is a big-match player). He showed that yesterday too. He showed that the tougher the competition, the better her bats. Mentally, he is very strong…Class is permanent, form is temporary. Everyone knows his contribution towards Indian Cricket, they know how many matches he has made the country win.”

The renowned coach hailed India’s impressive performance in the ongoing eight-team tournament.

“Team India has performed phenomenally. The atmosphere in the Indian dressing room is really good. Their morale is high and momentum is with India…I am very hopeful that India will definitely win this Champions Trophy.”

On the other hand, Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir denied claims that Kohli has a weakness against leg-spinners.

He said in the presser, “When you play 300 (301) games, you will end up getting out to some of the spinners. I think he’s got a hundred in this competition, he’s got a ninety (84) in this competition and eventually when you’ve got runs in this competition, you will eventually get out to some kind of a bowler. When you’ve played 300 ODIs, you will eventually get out to certain kind of bowlers, and that’s okay.”

India will take on New Zealand in the summit clash of the Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Sunday.