"When it doesn't come off with Virat Kohli"- Rahul Dravid rings warning bells in Barbados

Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli has not had the best of times in this T20 World Cup so far. In seven games so far, he has scored just 75 runs at an average of 10.71 and a best of 37. 

Despite his failures, he has been backed to open the batting for Team India. In the semi-final, he was cleaned up by Reece Topley for just nine. The ploy to send him as an opener has not worked out so far. This is something that the management would be thinking about leading into the final against South Africa on Saturday as well.

India scored a competitive 171/7 in the semi-final after being asked to bat first. Rohit Sharma scored 57 to lay the platform for India. Cameos from Hardik Pandya (23 off 13), Ravindra Jadeja (17* off 9), and Axar Patel (10 off 6) helped India get to that score. 

The Indian spinners then came into their own and never allowed England to get ahead in the chase. Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel took three each and Jaspeit Bumrah took two to bowl out England for 103 and win the match by 68 runs. India one can say that they did complete the revenge against England for the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final loss. 

Despite India's relatively comfortable win, concerns are visible in the camp with Virat Kohli's form. He headed into the IPL after scoring over 700 runs in the IPL and winning the Orange Cap. However, he has been a shade below what he was in the IPL. In the quest for getting quick runs, Kohli has perished for a low score almost every single time. 

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Virat Kohli Deserves It: Rahul Dravid On India Winning T20 World Cup

He has not yet scored a fifty in this World Cup which highlights his struggle in this tournament so far. Despite that, his coach and captain have backed him to come good in the final. After the game, speaking to the reporters, Dravid said that Kohli deserves this World Cup for all the things that he has done for Indian cricket.

“You know with Virat, the thing is, when you play a slightly high-risk brand of cricket there can be times when it doesn't come off. Even today, I thought he hit a good 6 to set the tempo but he was just unlucky that the ball seemed a little bit more.

"But I love the intent, I love the way he went about doing it. It sets a good example for the group as well if he's willing to do it. And you know, for some reason, I don't want to jinx it but I think there's a big one coming up. I'm just loving his attitude and that he's committing himself on the field - I think he deserves it,” said Rahul Dravid on Star Sports. 

Rohit too backed his gun player saying that form is never a concern with Kohli and that a big knock is on the cards. 

“(Kohli) We understand his class. Form is never a problem when you've played for 15 years. Probably saving for the final,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation

India now faces South Africa in the T20 World Cup final on Saturday. The Men in Blue are looking for their second T20 World Cup title while the Proteas are looking for their first.

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