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Kohli slams Australians for not playing in spirit of game
Virat Kohli lashed out at the Australian players for not playing in the spirit of the game in his side's tri-series match against the hosts in Sydney on Sunday.
The match between India and Australia at the SCG, which the latter won by 87 runs, witnessed two controversial decisions by the umpires who turned down 'obstructing the field' appeal by the visitors against David Hussey and Brett Lee.
Sachin Tendulkar was apparently blocked by Lee while running for a single, leading to the Indian batsman's run out. David Hussey was not given out when it seemed that he had stopped the ball, directed to the stumps, by his right hand.
Kohli justified the appeals by his side and even claimed that David Hussey took a one-bounce catch.
"According to us, it was evident to naked eye. It was not on. It wasn't in the spirit of the game. Why shouldn't we appeal for something that's wrong. If it is in rule book, why shouldn't we appeal," said Kohli, who smashed an unbeaten 133 to guide India to an incredible seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka.
"There's no point. You can crib about it as much as you want, why did they claim one bounce catch. David Hussey himself claimed a catch (about Kohli himself in Sydney), which clearly I can see it wasn't the way. They should see themselves before pointing fingers at others. I think what we did was totally right according to us," he said.
Gavaskar praises Kohli's effort
Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar feels that Virat Kohli has "tremendous skills and lot of self belief at such young age" and is moving in the right direction.
"It was nice to see that Virat is now converting those good looking 20's and 30's into brilliant 100. Although it's just one match, it is absolutely magnificent effort to chase down a target in 36.4 overs," Gavaskar told NDTV.
Although he has seen the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, who were equally matured at 23 but Gavaskar feels that Kohli has all the ingredients to be the next big thing in Indian cricket.
The next big thing
"Virat has plenty of self belief and also great skills. Well, I have seen Sachin and Rahul also play some great innings at the Test level at this age. Virat has also got it all.
"The thing I liked about him today was his gesture after scoring a century and also the winning runs. It was not an angry gesture but something he felt happy.
"That's how it should be. You shouldn't be angry when you have scored a century but be happy," Gavaskar said.
Taking nothing away from a fabulous win, Gavaskar didn't forget to mention that "the attack at Hobart was a sub-continental one. But the Indian batsmen showed that they are world champions. They were super-charged today although the bowling looked a bit lethargic."
'Look ahead at the 2015 World Cup'
On the selection of the squad for the Asia Cup, Gavaskar said that the committee should ideally "look ahead at the 2015 World Cup and select a team accordingly."
"I don't want changes for the sake of it. If there are players who have done well not just in one tournament but for a season, one can obviously think about him."