Usain Bolt deserves it because there is no one greater than him, says Virat Kohli on Justin Gatlin's bow-down gesture

"When people do well, you understand how much strength and hard work it takes. You must appreciate that, it is very necessary. When you do well, other people appreciate you. It can’t be that none from the opposition will play well," said Kohli

PTI, Twitter grab

New Delhi: The world was left stunned when Usain Bolt finished with a bronze medal in the final 100m race of his career at the IAAF World Athletics Championships, in London, on Sunday. Despite the not-a-fairytale ending to his illustrious sprinting career, Bolt was praised for who he was, his records, his achievements with even the winner Justin Gatlin bowing down to pay respect to the Jamaican. And Virat Kohli reckoned that it was a rightful gesture from the American.

After Team India's thrilling victory in the Colombo Test against Sri Lanka, Indian skipper took to post-match conference to lavish praise on the Jamaican-born athlete. Justifying Gatlin's gesture, the 28-year-old said, "He (Bolt) deserves it (Justin Gatlin’s gesture of bowing to Usain Bolt) because there is no one greater than him and it was his last race. I also wished him because we both are Puma athletes. We have not seen a career like that in athletics and I don’t think that going forward, these records will be broken in a hurry."

WATCH: Justin Gatlin pays respect to Usain Bolt after winning 100m final at World Championships

A similar gesture was seen from the skipper himself on Day 4 of the second Test. Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis had both notched up centuries in the team's second innings batting. And when either of the batsman departed owing to their dismissal the team came up one-by-one to congratulate the duo. It was probably the best piece of batting displayed by the hosts that went to the extent of bringing back some hope in the Lankan dug-out.

“We were actually watching in awe yesterday (Saturday), the sweeping was outstanding and we congratulated both the batters (Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis) because it was proper Test cricket batting with high quality temperament," Virat added.

The Delhi-based cricketer then went on to explain his the team's gesture. “I always try and create as difficult a situation as possible so that the batsman gets out but at the same time, if he bats well, then you must also appreciate because this is Test cricket. When people do well, you understand how much strength and hard work it takes. You must appreciate that, it is very necessary. When you do well, other people appreciate you. It can’t be that none from the opposition will play well. We keep saying in the dressing-room that we must praise the guys who do well and learn from them about what they did well in an innings.”

For Team India, they have already wrapped up the series with a 2-0 lead of the three Test matches. The last is slated to begin from Ausgust 12, where the Men in Blue will be aiming form a Lankan washout. While Bolt still has his final race of his career – the 200m race, on August 10.