The last time India faced Australia in a T20 World Cupthe world witnessed a Virat Kohli special. His unbeaten 82 in the quarter-final of the 2016 World T20 guided India home in a famous chase at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. The knock became synonymous with Kohli’s career, dubbed the best innings of his life for the longest time. Then came Kohli’s MCG epic against Pakistan, and while the 2022 T20WC was surely something out of the divine, OG Kohli fans connect and identify more with his Mohali classic.
Seven years have passed. India and Australia were unable to face each other in the 2021 and 2022 editions of the T20 World Cup. But here we are, seven months after Australia crushed a billion Indian hearts in Ahmedabad on the night of November 19. The emotional impact of this defeat lingers, raising the stakes of this match even further. India has a chance to eliminate Australia even before the Super Eights, as a win for Rohit SharmaThe 2021 Men in Blue will dispatch the 2021 champions, but even though the theme of this competition seems to be India’s desire to avenge the 2023 World Cup defeat, some eyes will certainly be on Kohli.
The former Indian captain has been shockingly quiet by his standards, but he is warned by Robin Uthappa to get a big score against Australia in the Super Eight match in St Lucia on Monday. The former Indian batter, in a candid chat with spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, said Kohli was improving with every innings and the match against Australia could well be the one where he finds his form again.
“…to get a solid innings from Virat Kohli out of him, especially considering the perspective of the entire tournament. I want a 65-70 not out. Even if you get it at a strike rate of 120-125, I don’t really do it I want that solid innings from Virat Kohli Because once he gets that little taste of blood, this human being can do anything, before he reaches the semis. finals, I want him to have this one set,” said. Uthappa.
Kohli has had mixed experiences in the T20 World Cup. With just 5 runs from three innings during the American leg, Kohli looked a little more confident on the Caribbean pitches, but far from his best. He scored a run-a-ball 24 against Afghanistan before showing much more intent against Bangladesh, scoring 37 off 28 balls and hitting three sixes and a boundary in the process. However, IPL 2024’s Kohli, who set the tournament on fire with over 700 runs, is yet to come into the limelight. Who knows? Kohli could well target his former team Nemesis to break the deadlock in a match of such magnitude.
Rohit Sharma is not expected to make any changes to his batting approach »
Kohli is not the only one expected this evening. Uthappa also feels Rohit Sharma can find his rhythm against Australia as well. After starting the T20 World Cup with a fine 52 against Ireland, the Indian skipper endured low scores of 13, 3, 8 and 23. Rohit perished in an attempt to give India an explosive start – similar to the 2023 World Cup – but the This approach has not yielded the desired results. Uthappa, however, feels that Rohit should stick to what he is doing and not change anything in the way he goes about his batting.
“Rohit is very clear about the way he approaches his batting. I think he should continue to play the way he feels and he believes that is the best way to serve the team,” Uthappa added.