Ganguly compares Kohli to Argentine football legend Diego Maradona for his passion for the game

Sourav Ganguly on Thursday hailed Virat Kohli's century-scoring spree and compared the Indian captain to Argentine football legend Diego Maradona for his passion for the game, says a report in The Times Of India. 

"Diego Maradona is one of my all-time favourite sportspersons. Every time he played you could see the passion in his heart. I see the same thing in Virat Kohli. I love his body language and am a big fan of his (Kohli's)," Sourav said, adding, It's about passion. I have got lot of faith in Kohli. Whatever I've seen of him -on the ground or on TV, it gives me a lot of confidence."

Meanwhile, a report in The Indian Express says that the likes of Muralitharan, Jayawardene and Sangakkara are hard to replace and already the potency of the bowling appears diminished in the Sri Lankan side. “Rangana Herath is a good bowler but he isn’t getting younger and Tharindu Kaushal has the guile if not the years that his art needs. It is the seamers who are keeping the Lankans afloat and the underestimated Dhammika Prasad and Nuwan Pradeep have done their bit. It is time now to keep an eye out for the pacy Dushmantha Chameera but Sri Lanka will need some consistency of appearance. Their quicks come and go with the frequency of the products in one of their many cotton garment stores,” says the report.

“It is the batting that is a greater worry and that is where the hole left behind by Dilshan and by Jayawardene, and the crater that Sangakkara will leave behind, will be very difficult to fill. In recent years, investments in Upul Tharanga, Lahiru Thirimanne and Dinesh Chandimal, among those in the squad, haven’t really returned the value expected and only the hugely admirable Angelo Mathews keeps them afloat,” says the report, adding that f India are better placed on that front it is because Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane have shown pedigree (for all his exploits Kohli is still work in progress in Test cricket where he has blown hot and cold), Murali Vijay has enjoyed a renaissance and there is undeniable quality, even if it is erratic, in Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma.