LONDON: Star Indian batter Virat Kohli said that Team India’s big games, like India versus Pakistan clash, have the same atmosphere as a football game in the United Kingdom.
Virat was there with his wife and Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma to attend the FA Cup final between Manchester United and Manchester City on Saturday.
In a video posted by the club on Monday, Virat said, “The atmosphere during India’s premier clashes, like with Pakistan, is similar to what fans experience during the football games here (in UK). India versus Pakistan during a World Cup would probably be louder, but the passion and support of fans here is incredible to watch.”
https://twitter.com/ManCity/status/1665712650217738241
Virat said that affiliation with Premier League clubs and big stars coming to India will help the game grow in his country. Notably, Virat is also one of the co-owners of the Indian Super League (ISL) club FC Goa.
“But this will take time and infrastructure will have to grow,” added Virat.
Talking about supporting Manchester City, Virat said, “Watching Man City play live is a great thing for me. I have followed the team closely ever since I had a chat with Pep (Pep Guardiola, the club’s manager) and understood his mindset. What he has done with this club is incredible.”
On his team’s preparations for the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia, which will start from June 7 onwards at The Oval, Virat said that preparations have been relaxed.
“We have played here before. We are trying to enjoy ourselves and not go too intense,” added the star batter. Interestingly, Virat revealed that he was five minutes late to watch the game live at the stadium. “Could not see Man City score the first goal,” added Virat.
Ilkay Gundogan scored a brace to help Manchester City to a 2-1 win over Manchester United in the final of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, leaving City one game away from completing the treble, with UEFA Champions League final against Inter Milan on June 11 set to be their final mission.
Gundogan sensationally volleyed Manchester City into the lead after just 12 seconds, breaking the previous record of Louis Saha’s 25-second goal in the 2009 FA Cup final.
United was on the verge of freezing on the big stage during City’s dominating beginning, but they stayed in the game and equalised when Jack Grealish was penalised for handball after blocking an Aaron Wan-Bissaka pass, which was seen by VAR.
Bruno Fernandes finished the job from the spot to level the scores in the 33rd minute.
City got back their lead again when Kevin De Bruyne found Gundogan on the outside of the box and he controlled his second volleyed finish of the game past David de Gea, who was caught off guard.
An offside flag prevented Gundogan a hat-trick, and United attacked again in stoppage time, but an epic scramble ended with Raphael Varane’s strike hitting the top of the crossbar.
Pep Guardiola’s club will now meet Inter Milan in the Champions League final next Saturday with a chance to become only the second team, after Manchester United in 1999, to win the Premier League, FA Cup, and European Cup all in the same season.
Coming to the WTC final, Australia ended at the top of the WTC table with 11 wins, three losses, and five draws in 19 matches whereas India ended in second position with 10 wins, five losses and three draws.
India’s squad for WTC final: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk).
Standby players: Suryakumar Yadav, Mukesh Kumar and Yashasvi Jaiswal
Australia squad for WTC final: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner.
Standby players: Mitch Marsh and Matthew Renshaw. (ANI)