Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden believes that Indian star player Virat Kohli will face challenges in the second part of the T20 World Cup 2024, which will be held in the West Indies. Kohli’s performance in the current tournament hasn’t been great, as he has only managed to score five runs in three matches.
For the first time in this tournament, the 35-year-old Kohli has been assigned to open the batting and is finding it tough to score during the initial powerplay. Hayden commented that Kohli, as an opener for India, will need to confront the game directly during the powerplay in the Super 8 stages of the tournament.
“What do you aim for? Is it scoring 100s, 50s, or having a high strike rate? The way Head and David Warner played aggressively on a good pitch in Barbados against England, that’s the challenge Virat Kohli will face when he comes to the Caribbean,” Hayden mentioned on the Star Sports Press Room show.
Hayden also added that Kohli should keep opening the batting and needs a high strike rate to stay ahead during the powerplay.
“In my view, he should start the game. He’ll be the one to begin. I think he’ll demonstrate why the Indian selectors chose him for that role. He also needs to keep a high scoring rate. From what we’ve seen in the West Indies, there’s a trend where you need to be in control during the first 6 overs. If you’re trying to catch up later, it could be tough. The first 10 overs need to be very strong,” he said.
Kohli began the tournament by scoring 1 run off 4 balls against Ireland, where he tried to attack the bowling from the start. In the next game against Pakistan, he was out for just 4 runs off 3 balls after attempting to hit a wide ball over the point area but couldn’t get it past the fielder.
In the third match against the USA, the top batsman was out for a duck, with Saurabh Netravalkar showing his struggle with balls outside the off stump early in the innings. As the important Super 8 stage starts, India really needs Kohli to perform well with the bat and give them good starts on the better batting pitches in the West Indies. The Indian team will begin their Super 8s matches against Afghanistan on Thursday, June 20 at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.
