Virat Kohli's horror show with the bat continued in the T20 World Cup 2024 semifinal between India and England at the Providence stadium in Guyana on June 27. The batting juggernaut could only manage to score 9 runs before falling prey to Reece Topley in the very third over. Following Virat Kohli's dismissal, former coach Ravi Shastri commented that Kohli's approach might not have been ideal for the conditions. Shastri suggested Kohli should have adapted his shot selection to the pitch and the match situation.
Ravi Shastri on Virat Kohli's poor form
“This is not Virat Kohli’s game. He should play according to situations and play his natural and then he has capability to score quickly and catch up at the last. He is trying to manufacture shots. This is what you do when you are not in form,” Ravi Shastri told Star Sports after Kohli’s dismissal.
Kohli's struggles continue despite strong recent form. After a stellar showing in the ODI World Cup and IPL 2024, where he won the Player of the tournament award and Orange Cap respectively, fans expected Virat Kohli to dominate the T20 World Cup 2024. However, he has only managed a disappointing 75 runs in 7 innings so far. Shastri calls for a change in approach. Former India coach believes Kohli needs to adapt his batting to the situation. Shastri feels Kohli is forcing shots that aren't working and advises him to return to his natural game. He believes Kohli has the ability to recover and perform later in the innings if he plays more instinctively.
During the group stage, he only accumulated a total of 5 runs over 3 innings, with scores of 1, 4, and 0. He showed promise in the Super 8 phase, scoring 24 against Afghanistan and 37 against Bangladesh, but failed to turn these beginnings into substantial innings. His outing today resulted in his third single-digit score and his second duck of the World Cup. The spotlight was firmly on Virat Kohli in the critical T20 World Cup semifinal against England, where he was expected to leverage his reputation for thriving under pressure. Despite early hopes when he hit a six off England's Reece Topley in the third over, Kohli's difficulties at the crease persisted. Topley quickly retaliated, dismissing Kohli for just 9 runs only two balls later. This crucial early dismissal by Topley, who bowled a technically superb delivery that swung back in late at a good length, subdued the Indian fans. Kohli attempted to make space for a mid-wicket shot by staying leg-side but was completely outfoxed as the ball crashed into his stumps, bringing his innings to a halt.
Later, India ended up beating England by 68 runs to storm into T20 World Cup final.
India's Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
England's Playing XI
Philip Salt, Jos Buttler(w/c), Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley
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