'Played with strike rate of 128' - Sanjay Manjrekar furious at Virat Kohli winning PoTM award in T20 World Cup final

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar wasn't happy with Virat Kohli getting the Player of the Match in the final of the T20 World Cup 2024. He said that the batter played a slow innings and his knock would've put India in a tight position in the summit clash against South Africa.

India batter Virat Kohli was the top run-scorer for his team in the final of the T20 World Cup 2024. The right-hander played the anchor role and made sure that he batted till the end and helped the Rohit Sharma-led side post a fighting total on the board at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown Barbados.

Virat Kohli started aggressively with the bat as he slammed three fours in the first over but after that when India lost wickets, he took a backfoot. The batter got into the shell and scored runs slowly, ensuring that he stayed as long as possible for his team, holding one end while others played aggressively around him.

Virat Kohli played a sensational innings of 76 runs off 59 balls. He batted with a strike rate of around 130 and slammed 6 fours and 2 sixes in his innings. His knock helped India post a total of 176 runs on the board and won the game by 7 runs to lift their second T20 World Cup title. He also won Player of the Match for his innings.

Sanjay Manjrekar while talking about Virat Kohli's innings claimed that it was because of the slow knock that Hardik Pandya got to face fewer balls. He pointed out that the batter played with a strike rate of around 128 and his knock got saved by the bowler, who deserved the Player of the Match. Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, he explained:

"By playing that innings, Hardik Pandya, one of their most devastating batters, had just two balls to face. So I thought India's batting was good, but Virat Kohli had potentially played an innings that would've put India in a tight corner. And it almost proved to be that, before these guys' bowlers came in the end.

"India was in a losing position, 96% was in South Africa’s favour. And that saved Virat Kohli's innings because he played virtually half the innings with a strike rate of 128. My Player of the Match would've been a bowler because they actually took the game from the jaws of defeat and won it for India."

If India had been pipped there, there would've been a lot of criticism going Virat Kohli's way - Andy Flower

Andy Flower, who was also part of the discussion, claimed that had India lost the game, Virat Kohli would've faced a lot of criticism. He added that the batter didn't have the idea of an ideal total but instead was trying to build partnerships. He explained:

"If India had been pipped there, there would've been a lot of criticism going Virat Kohli's way, I'd reckon. At the halfway mark, I thought India had enough, and that it was going to be a very difficult chase for South Africa, and during his innings, he would've been making those calculations the whole way.

"He wouldn't have had a very clear idea of what the ideal total would be, but he would've understood the importance of building those partnerships, and taken them to a total which, might on that pitch,) not seem as dominant, but it was a final. A final brings all those pressures and anxiety on the chasing side."

Virat Kohli also retired from the T20Is after India won the title. He played 125 games and scored 4188 at an average of 48.69 and a strike rate of 137.04.