"Virat Kohli's bat will finally have to talk now"- Final ultimatum issues to Indian legend before semi-final tie
Former India opener Aakash Chopra believes that Virat Kohli will need to get amongst the runs in the upcoming semi-final match between India and England at Guyana. Unlike the previous editions, Kohli has been given the role of an opener for this edition. But he and Rohit Sharma haven't been able to give India good starts so far.
Kohli is having a disappointing tournament with just 66 runs in 6 matches. The legendary India batter is averaging just 11 with a strike rate of 100. In the last game against Australia, Kohli was dismissed for a duck.
Now that the tournament has reached its final stages, India will hope its talismanic batter to be at his best and contribute to the team's cause. Meanwhile, other batters like Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, and Hardik Pandya have shown glimpses of good form, which is an encouraging sign.
Aakash Chopra expects Virat Kohli to get back into form
In a video uploaded on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra felt that India will need both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to make contributions. He reckons the pitch won't be a high-scoring one and crucial contributions from the batters will be appreciated.
"I feel Rohit Sharma is there to protect the Indian team and Kohli's bat will finally have to talk now. We will need protection from not one but two players in the opening. Since it's a 125 to 130-run match, it's great if Rohit fires, and even if he doesn't, I am thinking 20-25 runs from everyone," Chopra said.
"I feel you should reach 130-135 somehow if you get to bat first. In such a scenario, small contributions become extremely valuable. Whether it's Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya or Shivam Dube, we want small performances from all of them, and it should work out with that," Chopra explained.
Aakash Chopra expects the match to be a low-scoring game
According to Aakash Chopra, the pitch would help the spinners and even a total of 135 could prove to be challenging. He also reckoned that India will bat first if they win the toss.
"The Indian team will bat first after winning the toss because runs are not scored on this ground. The average score is 120-odd. A rank-turner pitch has been prepared. It's looking like a slightly underprepared pitch. This is not a 160-run pitch unless someone has rolled it with water," the former India batter elaborated in the video.
India will play England in a highly anticipated semi-final clash on June 27. It will be a repeat of last edition's semi-final where England thrashed India by 10 wickets at Adelaide. India will look to rectify its mistakes and make a statement here.
Meanwhile, South Africa became the first team of this year's T20 World Cup to reach the semi-final when they defeated Afghanistan by 9 wickets. It was a low-scoring game and South Africa's bowlers proved to be too much for the Afghan batters, who succumbed to their lowest T20I total ever.
