Virat Kohli rebukes reporter, claims Shubman Gill batted better than him in Chennai Test

India were comprehensively beaten by 227 runs by England in the first of the four-match Test series at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday. With the disgraceful loss, India's chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship final at Lord's have become even more difficult. The hosts now need to win the rest of the games or win two and draw one in order for them to progress into the WTC final. If England beat India in any of the next three Tests, India's chances of qualifying for the WTC final will be over.

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Virat Kohli reckons Shubman Gill was India's best batsmen in first Test

Indian captain Virat Kohli was pretty expressive in the post-match press conference where he spoke about a plethora of things. During the press conference, a reporter asked Kohli about opener Shubman Gill's performance in the match and the youngster's shot selection and dismissal. 

In response, Kohli said that none of the Indian batsmen batted better than Gill in the first Test. The reporter then tried to instigate Kohli by asking him about Gill's dismissal in the second innings where his off-stump was sent for a walk by James Anderson. Kohli shut the reporter down by saying that even he got out bowled. The Indian skipper also reckoned that the top order has to take responsibility of scoring runs upfront to ensure that the lower-order is less burdened.

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Here's how Shubman Gill was dismissed by James Anderson

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Meanwhile, Indian batsmen failed miserably on a Day 5 Chepauk wicket that turned and bounced like nobody's business. Barring Kohli and Gill, none of the batters were able to survive on the tricky surface. Gill also got out after scoring a well-made fifty but Kohli continued to fight the battle on his own while his partners kept changing. The Indian skipper scored a gritty 74 before he was cleaned up by a Ben Stokes ball that stayed considerably low. 

Virat Kohli career stats

The Virat Kohli career stats in his cricketing career are simply astonishing. Kohli has featured in 88 Test matches and has amassed 7,401 runs at a brilliant average of 53.2. The right-hander has also scored 12040 and 2928 runs in 251 ODIs and 85 T20Is respectively. Kohli has also hit an astonishing 70 centuries and 109 half-centuries in international cricket.

The Virat Kohli centuries count include the 43 tons he has scored in the format which puts him second in the list of most centuries in ODIs. Kohli also has 27 centuries in the longest format of the game. Notably, Kohli is the only batsman in the world right now with an average of more than 50 across all three formats. 

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SOURCE: BCCI.TV