Sunil Gavaskar the former Indian opener envisions Virat Kohli the struggling batter finding calm amidst the storm of pressure in the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup final. As Team India prepares to face off against South Africa in the pinnacle showdown at the revered Kensington Oval in Barbados on the fateful day of June 29.
Virat Kohli has had a very dismal tournament with the bat, scoring only 75 runs at an average of less than 11 and a run-per-ball strike rate in seven games.
In an interview with India Today prior of the grand final, Sunil Gavaskar urged Virat Kohli:
“When he starts to move around, the head shakes as well. And therefore, it is not helping him. This is something you see in slow-mo as well. All that he needs to do is chill a bit and play that big hand and will give India the big score.”
Sunil Gavaskar
He added:
“Like I keep saying, what Kohli has to do is just play the shots that he plays with the same body balance. When he is looking to power the ball away, then he is losing his body balance and he misses the ball. So, all that needs to do is, that six he hit (off Reece Topley). It was brilliant balance and he just flicked the ball with the bottom hand. That’s all he has to do.”
Sunil Gavaskar
Despite enduring challenges India has emerged victorious by conquering all seven matches securing a coveted spot in the final showdown.
The team is on a mission to secure their second T20 World Cup victory aiming to replicate their success from the inaugural edition in 2007.
Virat Kohli was India’s top-scorer in their last T20 World Cup final
Its been a decade since India last graced a T20 World Cup final back in 2014 when they faced off against Sri Lanka. In that memorable match Virat Kohli took center stage for India delivering a stellar performance with the bat. He smashed an impressive 77 runs off just 58 balls featuring five boundaries and four maximums.
Yet the other batters found it challenging to come to terms with the nuances of the Mirpur wicket leading to the Men in Blue finishing below par at 130/4 in 20 overs. The Lankans orchestrated a remarkable runchase crossing the finish line in a mere 17.5 overs.
Nonetheless, Virat Kohli finished as the tournament’s leading run-getter, scoring 319 runs at an average of more than 106, earning the Player of the World Cup accolade.
It was Kohli’s first back-to-back Player of the Tournament awards, as he had won in 2016. The champion batter is still the all-time leading run-scorer in T20 World Cup history, with 1,216 runs at an average of 57.90 and a strike rate of 128.81 in 34 matches.