India vs Australia: Virat Kohli earns praise from Laxman and Gambhir for 'phenomenal' run

Kohli, who became the fastest batsman to score 12,000 ODI runs on Wednesday (December 2), has amassed 22,074 runs in international cricket since making his debut in 2008. He is also the fastest batsman to score 8,000, 9,000, 10,000 and 11,000 ODI runs.

Post Kohli’s latest record, Laxman was amazed at the intensity maintained by the Indian skipper since he made his international debut in 2008 and is still going stronger.

“Oh yeah, phenomenal! I think, the way he has played in each and every series, the kind of intensity he has maintained each and every day, when he’s on the cricket field is unbelievable,” Laxman said on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

India vs Australia: Kohli fastest to reach 12k, breaks Tendulkar’s record

However, Laxman admitted that he had doubted Kohli will burn out at one stage, but was surprised after seeing his determination on the field when batting or fielding.

“Because at some stage I thought that will be the biggest challenge for Virat Kohli at some stages he will burn out, but not even once we have seen that energy drop-down when Virat is on the cricket field, whether he is batting or he is fielding,” he added.

Laxman also praised Kohli for his art of chasing the targets and said the Indian skipper likes the pressure and responsibilities.

“And under pressure, because if you see his one-day record, how many hundreds did he get while chasing and then you know that you’ve got a target to achieve, there’s always a scoreboard pressure on him, but he relishes pressure, he relishes responsibility and that’s what gets the best out of him,” Laxman said.

Meanwhile, Gambhir, who has often been critical of Kohli – the captain in limited overs, also echoed Laxman’s comments and praised the Indian skipper.

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“You can take anything, you can actually do whatever you want, but the best feeling in the world is, when you score that last run and come back to your hotel room and you’re so satisfied that you’ve done something for your country, what you were meant to do,” Gambhir said.

“So probably, all those combinations have made him what he is, and hats off to him, he’s scored more than 20,000 runs, centuries all that,” he added.

Kohli and co sealed their first win in the tour down under on Wednesday (December 2) when they won the third ODI of the three-match series. They will now look to to do well in the three-match T20I series, which is scheduled to start on Friday (December 4).

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