IPL 2021: "Virat Kohli got out playing a shocking shot" - Gautam Gambhir slams RCB skipper and Glenn Maxwell

Gautam Gambhir came down heavily at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), especially skipper Virat Kohli and all-rounder Glenn Maxwell for their 'shocking' shot selection against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Monday.

Playing the all-important Eliminator, RCB got off to a good start in Sharjah. However, KKR's spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy were quick to apply brakes and kept the batting side down to a sub-par total of 138-7. Kohli was the top-scorer with 39, but he left a lot to desire in terms of his strike rate of 118.18. He was clean bowled while attempting to play a wild slog sweep against Narine.

Gautam Gambhir dismissed the performance as "poor batting", saying Kohli should have anchored the innings until at least the 16th over. The former Indian batter also felt Maxwell made a mistake by attempting a reverse sweep against Narine when the spinner had just two balls left in his spell.

In an interaction with ESPNcricinfo, Gautam Gambhir said:

"Just poor batting. Poor shot selection as well... Someone who was in should have batted till the 16th over. It started with Virat that he got out at the wrong time playing a shocking shot. And then Glenn Maxwell again, when two balls were left in Sunil Narine's spell, why would you play that shot? He could have targeted Shivam Mavi."

Gautam Gambhir continued:

"They should have looked to get 150-155... You need to have a better game plan on who do you want to target and when and what is the situation as well. Virat had to bat till the 16th over and had he got that 60-70, the have could have reached that total..."

Sanjay Manjrekar also agreed to Gautam Gambhir's points on the RCB skipper's batting. He noted that Kohli, instead of taking the onus to attack himself, left the job to KS Bharat who collapsed under pressure.

Manjrekar said:

"The only point I want to make here is that... there was that partnership where we could see Bharat was struggling today. It wasn't his day... but Virat was happy to still give him the single. You know, he was batting at 30 so I think he could have taken the onus on himself being the senior player and more qualified to handle quality spin but he kept taking the single and leaving on Bharat to expedite the runrate. And it was on the cards, I could see that wicket falling because young Bharat was feeling the pressure of getting that runrate up."

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Sunil Narine was at his best not only with the ball but also with the bat. He played a cameo of 15-ball 26 in the middle order that proved to be instrumental in KKR's nail-biting chase. The two-time champions ultimately won the game by four wickets with two balls to spare, registering their place in the second Qualifier against the Delhi Capitals (DC).

"Time for some of these guys to retire if they can't pick Sunil Narine" - Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir also commented on questions about Sunil Narine's retirement that have been casually doing the rounds throughout the season.

Gautam Gambhir lauded his former teammate, who he feels is equally good to the RCB's best batsmen. The former KKR skipper said that instead of Narine, it might be time for some of the RCB batsmen to retire if they can't match the spinner even at this stage of their careers.

Gautam Gambhir concluded:

"Why should he retire? He's as good as AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli or for that matter Glenn Maxwell when it comes to bowling... Sunil Narine is as good as anyone in the bowling department. Probably it's time for some of these guys to retire if they can't pick Sunil Narine even now after playing against him for so many years."

Speaking of retirements, this match was Virat Kohli's last as the RCB captain. The dynamic leader will have to bow out without fulfilling his dream of leading the franchise to an IPL trophy.