Sunil Gavaskar hails Virat Kohli’s century, says great players punish every mistake

Sunil Gavaskar lauded Virat Kohli’s match-winning century against Kolkata Knight Riders, saying the RCB batter continues to prove his greatness despite the rise of younger stars. Gavaskar also criticised KKR’s dropped catch, calling it a costly mistake against a player like Kohli.

Hyderabad:  JioStar expert Sunil Gavaskar praised Kohli’s brilliance with the bat for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday night and shared his thoughts on PBKS’ need to return to winning ways in today’s fixture against MI as the ‘Race to Playoffs’ heats up.

“Virat Kohli was absolutely outstanding against KKR. He knows how to construct a chase better than most. When it comes to T20 centuries, he is third on the list with 10, behind Chris Gayle and Babar Azam. But he is the fastest to 14,000 T20 runs and has nine IPL hundreds,” Gavaskar said.

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“Records are there to be broken, but it will take a very long time for anyone to match what Kohli keeps delivering, game after game, season after season. While everyone was talking about this being the season of ‘Gen Next’, Kohli showed he is still around,” he said.

“Kohli silenced the doubters with a century and moved to third in the Orange Cap race. He proved that the old generation is still the best. Even though the young stars are taking centre stage, the experienced greats are not done yet. This hundred from Virat Kohli was one of those special moments that remind us of his greatness,” Gavaskar said.

On the dropped catch of Virat Kohli, Gavaskar said: “Before this RCB-KKR game, KKR’s efficiency with catches was still the best in the IPL this season, even after dropping a few catches. They were at the top of that table. But this one hurt badly. Rovman Powell, who has taken some stunning catches this season, was fielding inside the 30-yard circle.”

“Powell had the chance to dismiss Virat Kohli early. He went up high, timed his jump well, but the ball slipped out. You cannot drop Kohli early in his innings. He will make you pay every single time. LSG learned that lesson the hard way. Give him an early lifeline, and he grabs it with both hands. He scored a hundred and made KKR regret that drop. That is what great players do. They don’t give you a second chance. They punish your mistakes and turn the game on its head,” Gavaskar explained.