By: Tarish Bhatt
The platform was set for Virat Kohli when he came out to bat against Bangladesh in the 1st ODI. He was required to score at run a ball, with well-set Rohit Sharma at the other end. Everyone was hoping it to be an easy game from that point for India, despite Bangladesh’s competitive total.
When players like Kohli and Rohit are in the middle after a solid foundation, with Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina to follow, the odds favour the chasing side heavily. And, in Mirpur India looked set for a clinical win after a 95-run opening stand.
What could have been a clinical chase at one point, turned into a thumping defeat at the end, after Kohli threw his wicket just like he did in the World Cup semifinal against Australia. It was almost a similar scenario, but in more favorable batting conditions.
India needed Kohli to stay in the middle, but he played a loose shot off Taskin Ahmed’s delivery, pitched short and wide. That was the turning point of the match and then India lost chunk of wickets within a short space of time and eventually succumbed to an embarrassing defeat.
It is not Kohli’s responsibility to bail India out on every occasion, but as India’s leading batsman and skipper of the Test side he needs to step up. That ball from Taskin wasn’t the greatest of deliveries, but even if Kohli had timed it perfectly, there was just a single available.
Kohli should have tried to spend some time in the middle, before going for booming drives, seeing he has struggled for runs lately. This year has been a disaster for Kohli and it could turn into a nightmare if he doesn’t improve his performance.
This year, Kohli has made just one century against Pakistan in the World Cup, no half-centuries, no match-winning knock. He averages a mere 33 in 13 innings and scored 330 runs at a strike rate of 76.74, which is certainly below his standards.
Team India needs vintage Kohli as some big tours are approaching and the team is looking forward for the World T20 next year. The Delhi-born himself would be hoping to add some runs under his belt and it is high time he should start doing it.
