Virat Kohli’s disappointing record in a World Cup semi-final game continued after the Indian skipper was dismissed by New Zealand seamer Trent Boult for just one run.
Kohli is considered one of the finest batsmen of all time and arguably the best-ever batsman in ODI cricket. In a career spanning 236 ODI games, the 30-year-old has managed to score 11268 runs at a superb average of 59.40. The strike-rate of 93.00 shows that the runs have come at a healthy rate.
Firstly I want to thank all our fans who came in huge numbers to support the team. You made it a memorable tournament for all of us & we definitely felt the love showered upon the team. We are all disappointed & share the same emotions as you. We gave everything we had.Jai hind🇮🇳 https://t.co/rFwxiUdqK5
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) July 10, 2019
However, failure to stage an inspiring performance in a big game sticks out like a sore thumb. The skipper’s scores in the last three World Cup semi-finals games read 9, 1 and 1.
Kohli scored nine runs from 21 balls against Pakistan in the 2011 World Cup semi-final. But his poor show went under the radar after India went on to win the trophy.
In the 2015, he fell prey to Mitchell Johnson’s pace by edging the ball to wicket-keeper Brad Haddin, who made no mistake. On Wednesday, Boult claimed the prized wicket via an lbw that stood the test of India’s review.
Kohli’s current average in 15 quarter-finals, semi-finals or finals is just 29.33. Although this could read well for an average player, for a batsman of his quality, Kohli should be doing better.
The sample space is small, but the record does come as a concern. Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting averaged 52.84 and 39.76 in knockout games.
Kohli will find that there is a lot of work to be done on this aspect of his game.
