The much-anticipated T20 World Cup semifinal on Thursday (June 27th) saw another low score for Virat Kohli. After a wet outfield delayed the start, England captain Jos Buttler opted to field first. All eyes were on Kohli, India's former skipper, who has been struggling with the bat throughout the tournament. Kohli's struggles continued as he was clean bowled by Reece Topley for a disappointing score. This dismissal added to his woes in the competition. In the group stage, he managed a meager 5 runs across 3 innings, with scores of 1, 4, and 0. While he showed glimpses of form in the Super 8 stage, scoring 24 against Afghanistan and 37 against Bangladesh, he couldn't convert those starts into big scores. Today's dismissal marked his third single-digit score and his second duck of the World Cup.
The pressure was on Virat Kohli to deliver in the crucial T20 World Cup semifinal against England. Known for his big-match temperament, fans anticipated a return to form. Unfortunately, Kohli's struggles continued. He started with a glimmer of hope, blasting a six off England's Reece Topley in the third over. However, Topley wasn't done. Just two deliveries later, he had his revenge, clean bowling Kohli for a mere 9 runs. This dismissal gave England a vital early breakthrough and dampened Indian spirits. The dismissal itself was a technical one. Topley delivered a perfectly executed ball on the fourth delivery - good length with late movement back in. Aiming to create room for a mid-wicket shot, Kohli stayed leg-side. But the ball deceived him completely, crashing into his stumps to end his short stay at the crease.
This is how Virat Kohli departed
India's batting struggled early on in the semifinal clash. At the time of this report India scored 65 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. The latest blow came from Sam Curran, who dismissed Rishabh Pant for a mere 4 runs. This wicket puts England in a strong position early in the innings. Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav 37 off 26 and and 13 off 7 respectively.
India ended up posting a competitive total of 171/7. Later they flattened England by 68 runs to storm into T20 World Cup final.
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