Gautam Gambhir's World Cup eye-opener for Cummins & Co after India's defeat: 'Australia probably lost semi-final spot'
Recently, Gambhir praised Kohli for a game-changing knock during the World Cup against Australia.
Former Indian captain Virat Kohli, dropped for a measly score of 12 in India's World Cup opener on Sunday, punished Australia for its expensive error by playing a match-changing knock for the hosts at Chepauk.
Gautam Gambhir praised Kohli for his superb performance against Pat Cummins and Co. at the One Day International (ODI) World Cup, observing that kids can learn a vital lesson about absorbing pressure from his gritty innings.
Mitchell Marsh, who was given a six-ball duck by Jasprit Bumrah, committed one of cricket's most heinous offences when he dropped Kohli for 12.
Australia's pacers reduced India to 2-3 before Kohli and KL Rahul produced a successful run chase for Rohit Sharma's men. Though Australia has cleared Marsh, former Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir believes the all-rounder's error could jeopardise India's semi-final ambitions.
'Australia may have lost a semi-final spot.'
Gambhir, in a timely World Cup eye-opener for the five-time champions, said that Australia may have lost a position at the ICC event's business end. "India would have been under a lot of pressure if the score had been 10-4 or 20-4
" It would have been impossible for India to chase down the score with a hitter like Kohli out. "With that dropped catch, Australia not only lost the match, but they may have also lost a place in the semi-finals," Gambhir told Sportskeeda.
Australia has two must-win games in the World Cup.
When Kohli had only 12 runs, Marsh let the ball slide due to a small attention from wicketkeeper Alex Carey. The former India captain went on to break many records with his 116-ball 85 as Rahul Dravid motivated him.
At the MA Chidambaram Stadium, India defeated Australia by six wickets. Australia will play South Africa next, while India will face Afghanistan in the World Cup. "Because the World Cup is such a long tournament, Australia could fall out of the top four and miss out on the semi-finals as a result of this dropped catch."
"After losing to India, Australia's remaining matches against top teams will be must-wins," Gambhir continued.