India batsman Virat Kohli’s goodbye wave in Adelaide sparked rumors about his future, but veteran Sunil Gavaskar quashed them. Gavaskar said Kohli’s gesture was an acknowledgment of the crowd’s standing ovation and confirmed that the 36-year-old will play in the third and final ODI in Sydney.
Kohli’s consecutive ducks out in Perth and Adelaide have intensified speculations about his retirement from ODIs. After his dismissal in the second ODI, Kohli waved towards the crowd, leading fans to wonder if he was signaling the end of his international career. The moment sparked debate in the cricket community.
Virat Kohli accepts some failures – Sunil Gavaskar
Speaking to Sports Tak, Sunil Gavaskar dismissed the concerns of Virat Kohli retiring from international cricket. Gavaskar expressed confidence that the 36-year-old still has a lot of cricket left in him and also backed him to make a comeback in the upcoming ODI in Sydney.
Gavaskar said, “Look, the guy has over 14,000 runs, 52 ODI centuries and I think 32 Test centuries. He has scored thousands and thousands of runs, so he has accepted some failures.”
He said, “Don’t read too much into what has happened – there is still a lot of cricket left, there is still a lot of cricket ahead. Maybe we will see a big innings from him in Sydney. Adelaide has definitely been his favorite ground in Australia, both at Test level and in ODIs. He has scored centuries there, so naturally, everyone was expecting a big innings here too. But it did not happen.”
What a wonderful appreciation Virat Kohli received – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar said that Virat Kohli’s wave in Adelaide is not a sign of retirement but a recognition of the respect Kohli received from the audience. Gavaskar said that, while Indian supporters were present, the applause was largely from Australian fans.
Gavaskar further added, “What an amazing reception he got when he came out to bat. It was really heart-touching because most of the crowd was Australian. Yes, there were a lot of Indians there, but the majority of the crowd was Australian, recognizing what he had done for the game.”
He said, “That felicitation was really very special. No, that’s not the end. Look, where he was going – where the players come from – where the members’ stand is. The members’ stand is where former players, administrators and other people sit. I think he was just accepting the felicitation that they were giving him.”
Australia wins ODI series 2-0 with two-wicket win over India
Australia won the three-match ODI series 2–0 with a narrow two-wicket win over India. The host team achieved the target of 265 runs in 46.2 overs with 22 balls remaining.
Rohit Sharma, who scored 73 off 97 balls, and Shreyas Iyer (61 off 77) revived India after losing two early wickets. Axar Patel (44 off 41) and Harshit Rana (24 off 18) made important contributions in taking the total to a competitive score.
For Australia, Adam Zampa took 4 wickets for 60 runs, while Xavier Bartlett (3/39) and Mitchell Starc (2/62) took important wickets.
In reply, Australia recovered from early setbacks with Matt Short scoring 74 off 78 balls and Cooper Connolly remaining unbeaten on 61 off 53 balls. Mitchell Owen led the host team to victory by adding 36 runs in 23 balls. Washington Sundar (2/37), Arshdeep Singh (2/41) and Harshit Rana (2/59) bowled well for India.
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