Virat Kohli better than Sachin Tendulkar in Australia: Sourav Ganguly
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has rated Virat Kohli as the best touring player he has seen in Australia.
Kohli has been in sensational form against Australia with scores of 91, 59, 117 and 106 from the four ODIs. He is now the leading scorer in the series with 373 runs at an average of 93.25. Before this tour, Kohli averaged less than 16 against Australia in Australia.
Disappointed after India lost the four ODIs by 25 runs, despite being firmly in control for most of the 349-run chase, Ganguly said Kohli was the only bright spot in the side.
"The only positive from India's tour of Australia is Virat Kohli," Ganguly told Sports Today. He just keeps getting better and better in Australia. I have seen a lot of player do very well in Australia, like Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman but I think Kohli is the best."
However, Ganguly was far from impressed with the rest of his teammates, including under-fire limited-overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Dhoni has kept stressing that there have been improvements in the team but Ganguly failed to see any "marked" changes.
"There is no marked improvement from the rest. Dhoni's overseas performances haven't got better, neither have the spinners'."
Ganguly praised openers Rohit Sharma, who has scored 342 runs including two hundreds and Shikhar Dhawan, who has amassed 209 runs with one fifty and a hundred but said the rest needed to catch up.
"The team is not getting better in case of overseas performances. Yes, Kohli, Dhawan and Rohit have been very good but it's not just about individuals," Ganguly said.
The 43-year-old, who changed India's overseas fortunes during his tenure as India captain said the team management needed to reach out to the inexperienced players like Gurkeerat Singh Mann and Rishi Dhawan, who panicked under pressure in the course of India's stiff chase.
"The lower-order batsmen panicked and the inexperience showed. There should have been some message from the dressing-room. Ravindra Jadeja (who remained unbeaten on 24) needed to show them some direction. These are important in close matches."
Ganguly said India should not have lost the penultimate ODI of the five-match series given the way Dhawan and Kohli batted. The two were involved in a 212-run stand for the second wicket but India lost nine wickets for 46 runs in 12 overs to concede the game to Australia.
