Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has put his weight behind under-fire Virat Kohli after the latter could only manage to score nine runs in the second semifinal against England in the ongoing T20 World Cup at the Providence Stadium, Guyana on Thursday.
Kohli was cleaned up by Reece Topley when he was looking to go big on the leg-side by giving himself room. The talisman has managed 75 runs in seven matches of the ongoing T20I showpiece at a mundane average of 10.71 and a strike rate of 100.
Kohli had scored 761 runs in 15 matches for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2024 but he hasn’t been able to carry the same form in the World Cup.
Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation after India’s convincing win of 68 runs, “Kohli is a quality player. Any player can go through that. We do understand his class and we do understand his importance in all these big games. Form is never a problem. When you’ve played cricket for 15 years, form is never a problem. He’s looking good, the intent is there, he’s probably saving for the final. Absolutely (backing Kohli for the final).”
Kohli has got all the experience under his belt and he is going to hold the key for India in the all-important final.
Rohit added that it was a pleasing win for them as they came up with a collective show with both bat as well as the ball. The Indian skipper said they were able to adapt to the conditions and it played a key role in their success.
Rohit added, “Very satisfying to win this game. We worked really hard as a unit. To win this game like that was a great effort from everybody. We adapted to the conditions really well. The conditions were a little challenging, we had to adapt and that’s been the success story for us so far till this game. We have adapted to the conditions really well, played the conditions really well. The bowlers and the batters, if they play according to the conditions, things falls in place and that’s exactly what happened for us today.”
India will take on South Africa in the all-important final at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday.
