Gambhir praises 'phenomenal' Kohli as India reach Champions Trophy final
The India head coach Gautam Gambhir added that his side have been impressive in the ICC Men's Champions Trophy, but there was still a game to be won.
India coach Gautam Gambhir praised his side for their achievements at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, thus far, after beating Australia to reach the final.
He agreed with a journalist's statement that the side had played "flawlessly" - but hinted that there was more to come in the remaining game.
"The most important thing is the way we have played throughout this competition - the hunger, the commitment, and the eagerness to try and do something special for the country is always there in the dressing room," he said in a press conference.
India edge out Australia in a nervy chase to punch their ticket to the #ChampionsTrophy Final 🎫#INDvAUS 📝: https://t.co/hFrI2t8AC9 pic.twitter.com/ftpmHXJ2m4
— ICC (@ICC) March 4, 2025
Gambhir added, "There is always something to improve, be it in batting, fielding or bowling, and we still have one more game, and hopefully we can play a perfect game, that is the kind of person I am. I will never be satisfied with the performances! We want to keep improving.
"We want to stay humble, we want to be ruthless on the cricket field, but absolutely humble off the field as well. That's the team environment and culture we want to create in that dressing room."
He then shifted his focus to the all-important final on 9th March, all set to be played in Dubai against either New Zealand or South Africa.
"Hopefully we can play one more game and play our best game."
After they bowled Australia out for 264, India openers were positive in the chase. However, two quick wickets put the side on the backfoot, before chase master Virat Kohli resurrected the chase along with Shreyas Iyer. It was Kohli (84), who stitched important partnerships with Iyer (91), Axar Patel (44), and KL Rahul (47) to get India closer to the line. The game was eventually sealed by the Men in Blue in the 49th over.
Gambhir had some special words on Virat Kohli's run in the game.
"He is a phenomenal one-day cricketer," he said. "He knows how to plan his runs, he knows how to plan whether we are batting first or chasing, he adapts to the conditions really quickly, and that is why experienced and high-quality players are very important."
