VIRAT KOHLI DID NOT DESERVE TO BE PLAYER OF THE MATCH IN WORLD CUP FINAL: SANJAY MANJREKAR STIRS' STRIKE RATE' DEBATE
Virat Kohli was adjudged the Player of the Match in the thrilling T20 World Cup final, which India won. Kohli's knock of 76 runs off 59 balls proved invaluable, helping India post a competitive score on a sluggish pitch.
Kohli's first half-century of the tournament, in what he later revealed was his last T20 international, anchored India to 176/7 after captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat.
South Africa appeared to be on course to reach the target but faltered late on and fell just short.
But Manjrekar, known for his analytical approach to the game, expressed his dissent with Kohli's approach in the post-match show on ESPNCricinfo. He argued that while valuable, Kohli's knock of 76 runs off 59 balls put India in a "tight corner" due to its relatively slow pace.
"By playing that innings, Hardik Pandya, one of their most devastating batters, had just two balls to face. So I thought India's batting was good, but Virat Kohli had potentially played an innings that would've put India in a tight corner. And it almost proved to be that, before these guys' bowlers came in the end," Manjrekar said.
"India were in a losing position, 90 per cent winning chances (for South Africa). The complete turnaround actually saved Virat Kohli's innings because he played virtually half the innings with a strike-rate of 128. My Player of the Match would've been a bowler because they actually took the game from the jaws of defeat and won it for India," he was quoted as saying by HT.
South Africa, playing its first-ever final of an ICC tournament, needed a run-a-ball 30 to win on the back of Heinrich Klaasen’s belligerent 52 off 27 balls.
But Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya, who shared seven wickets between them, roared back in the death overs to cut down South Africa at 169/8.
India won its second T20 World Cup but its first world title in 13 years.
2024-07-02T14:22:07Z dg43tfdfdgfd