With all four teams in Group 1 still in the fray for the two semifinal spots, the game in St Lucia is of critical importance to the fate of the teams.With four points and a healthy net run-rate, unbeaten India are all but through to the knockouts while Australia’s chances hinge on a win against India and the result in the Afghanistan vs Bangaldesh match.
T20 World Cup: Schedule | Points Table
Afghanistan’s upset win over Australia threw the group open, leaving the last two matches to decide who finishes as No. 1 and No. 2 in Group 1 to enter the semis.
Talking about Kohli’s progress through the tournament so far, he has scored only 66 runs in five innings, 61 of which came in two knocks alone — 24 vs Afghanistan and 37 vs Bangladesh. His strike rate is 108.19. In the initial group stage of the tournament, Kohli’s struggling knocks read 1, 4 and 0.
Kohli came into this World Cup on the back of a stupendous Indian Premier League season, which saw him winning the Orange Cap with tally of 741 runs for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Speaking to India’s veteran offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel, former India wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa felt a half-century from Kohli against Australia will set him up for the semis and hopefully the final.
“…to get a solid Virat Kohli innings from him, especially looking at the whole tournament’s perspective. I want a 65-70 not out. Even if you get (it at) a 120-125 strike rate, I do not really care. I want that one solid innings from Virat Kohli. Because once he gets that little taste of blood, that human being can do anything. And for me, before we hit the semifinals, I want him to have that one innings,” said Uthappa.
The 2007 T20 World Cup winner also felt that skipper Rohit Sharma should continue his aggressive approach at the top of the order.
“Rohit is very clear with the way he approaches his batting. I think he should continue to play the way he feels and believes that is the best way he will serve the team,” reckoned Uthappa.
