Former Indian opening batter Gautam Gambhir believes that Virat Kohli remains undisputed when it comes to finishing the innings, given the number of matches he has won over the years. Gambhir declared that the one scoring the final run of the match is the finisher as the term is not limited to only No.5 to No.7.
Kohli once again showed his class against New Zealand on Wednesday, hitting 95 off 104 balls to take India to their 5th successive victory in 2023 World Cup. The 34-year-old shepherded India's run-chase expertly after they slipped to 191-5 at one stage, chasing 274.
During a discussion with Star Sports, Gambhir provided his take on the 'finisher' tag and said:
"I have never understood why the finisher's tag is given only to Nos. 5 to 7. An opener can also be a finisher. A No. 11 can also be a finisher. This has just been created by the media. There was probably no finisher 10 years ago. There can't be a better finisher than Virat Kohli because of the number of games he has won. So don't call only the Nos. 5, 6 and 7 as finishers. Whoever scores the last run is a finisher."
"Zero to 95 is a big journey" - Gautam Gambhir
Gambhir also underlined that the century don't matter more than his match-winning knock, adding:
"Think about how obsessed we are with a hundred that we have stopped remembering the 95-run knock. He has won the match. It doesn't matter if it was going to be the 49th or 100th hundred. Praise him because he won you the match. Zero to 95 is a big journey."
India climbed to the top of the points table with that win.
