"I would've been nervous bowling to him"- South African legend on Virat Kohli
Published - 20 Jun 2024, 10:04 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:13 AM
Legendary South African fast bowler Morne Morkel has backed Virat Kohli to be back amongst the runs in the Super Eight stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Kohli, who has an outstanding record in the T20 World Cup history, has failed to produce any significant performance with the bat so far.
Virat Kohli has scored just 5 runs in the three games that he has played so far this tournament. He has registered scores of 1, 4, and 0 in the three matches against Ireland, Pakistan, and USA in the group stage. Now that the tournament is at its important stage, Kohli will be expected to deliver his best.
Morne Morkel confident about Virat Kohli to regain form in Super Eight
While Kohli's low scores haven't affected India's performance so far, his runs will become crucial in the upcoming matches. Former South African speedster Morne Morkel, who played against Kohli during the latter stages of his international career, has backed him to be back in form.
During a chat with Star Sports, Morkel mentioned that Kohli has the class and the ability to hit good balls to the boundary, which makes him such a difficult batsman to bowl to.
“Don’t worry about Virat. Class players find a way to score runs at the right time. If I was a bowler, I would be nervous to bowl to him upfront. He is a guy who can rotate the strike, put your good balls away from a four," Morkel said.
"I am excited to see how he goes. He always finds an answer and I just love watching him play,” the former South African pacer added.
Virat Kohli is easily the most successful batsman in the history of the T20 World Cup. He has scored 1146 runs in 30 matches of the tournament at an average of 67.41 and a strike rate of 130.52. Kohli has been adjudged Player of the Tournament in two editions of T20 World Cups, in 2014, and 2016.
But despite all such achievements, he is yet to lift the trophy. In 2024, he seems to have altered his way of batting in T20 cricket as he is looking to be more aggressive than ever before. The 35-year-old is looking to show intent right from the first ball and put the opposition bowlers under pressure.
Indian batters struggle in New York
The pitches in New York also had a significant role to play in Kohli's low returns this year. In eight games played in New York this tournament, the highest score recorded was 137 by Canada. The inconsistent bounce and excessive sideways movement made life extremely difficult for the batters while the bowlers kept chipping away.
India's highest score in the T20 World Cup 2024 has been 119 against Pakistan so far But despite their batting failures, the Men in Blue have managed to win three matches and have stayed unbeaten in the tournament so far. With pitches likely to be better in the Caribbean, we could see a different Virat Kohli from now onwards.
India have been grouped with Australia, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan in Group 1 of the Super Eight stage. The Men in Blue will play their first Super Eight match against Afghanistan on June 20 in Barbados.
