MATCH STORY
Follow Us75 runs across seven innings at an average of 10.71 and a strike rate of 100 - Virat Kohli is having a disastrous T20 World Cup 2024. The 35-year-old got out for just 9 against England in the semi-final at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on June 27 (Thursday).
The right-handed opener whipped Reece Topley for a six, and it looked like he would make an impact in the all-important encounter, but his stay was cut short in the same over. Kohli charged down the track and missed the ball completely, getting his leg stump knocked over.
This is the first time he has been dismissed for a score of less than 50 in a knockout encounter of a T20 World Cup. In his previous four innings at this stage of the tournament, Kohli had scores of 50 (vs England in 2022), 89* (vs West Indies in 2016), 77 (vs Sri Lanka in 2014) and 72* (vs South Africa in 2014).
In five out of seven innings in this WC, Kohli has failed to go past the 10-run mark. In fact, his average of 10.71 is the worst for an Indian batter in a T20WC edition. In the 2012 T20WC in Sri Lanka, Gautam Gambhir scored 80 runs in five innings at an average of 16.
Kohli, who has produced insane numbers batting at No.3 for India in the 20-over format, is being used as an opener in this competition. At No.3 in the T20WC, Kohli has smashed 1,132 runs in 24 innings at an average of 87.08 and a strike rate of 132.9, decorated with 14 fifties.
The plan of opening him alongside Rohit Sharma has backfired tremendously for India and Kohli. He has the worst average for an opener in a T20WC edition (minimum six innings). In the same edition, Bangladesh’s Tanzid Hasan scored 76 runs in seven innings at an average of 10.85.
Kohli came into this tournament on the back of a stunning IPL 2024. He was the leading run-scorer in the competition, amassing 741 runs across 15 innings at an outstanding average of 61.75. However, in this T20WC, all Kohli has managed are scores of 9, 0, 37, 24, 0, 4 and 1.
This hasn’t only been his worst T20WC but also his worst T20I series (at least three innings).
Kohli's false shot percentage of 33.3 in this T20WC is clearly his worst in any edition of this tournament. Prior to this, his worst was 19.8% in the 2012 edition, when he scored 185 runs in five innings at an average of 46.25.
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