‘Not his game’: Ravi Shastri questions Virat Kohli’s batting technique after fresh failure in T20 WC 2024

Virat Kohli after elimination against Reece Topley at T20 World Cup 2024

Photo: AP

Virat, who is going through a disastrous T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, threw his bat at everything but failed to connect most of the balls. He seemed to find his feet when he gave Reece Topley a six, but he could no longer continue his innings and was bowled by Topley in the third over.

The 35-year-old Kohli, who could score just nine runs in nine balls against England, has scored just 75 runs in seven innings at an average of 10.71 and a strike rate of 100 in the ongoing T20 World Cup.

Speaking to Star Sports during a rain break, Ravi Shastri said that Virat is trying to make shots, which is the exact opposite of his game.

“The key word is rhythm. It’s not quite there. If it’s in his area, yes, he’ll put it away. But he’s tried to hit shots that aren’t there. That’s what you do when you’re in top form, when you’ve got 300 runs in the league, it’s second nature, it comes to you when you want to escape and the runs aren’t there, it’s not easy,” he added.

Meanwhile, former England captain Nasser Hussein said Virat Kohli should not have been so aggressive on the shaky pitch.

“I think the debate is around his intentions and whether he should be playing at this pace. I think it’s the rhythm. He’s been trying to get back into the rhythm all the time, especially after batting in New York, on that difficult pitch. When you’re brilliant and in great form and on a great pitch, you go out there and express yourself, like that pitch in Adelaide. But when you’re out of rhythm, and on a dodgy pitch, I know England will be happy that Kohli batted like that today. I think Kohli should have played today like Kohli has been doing for 10 years,” he added.

India lost both Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant in the powerplay in the semi-final, but captain Rohit Sharma (57) and Suryakumar Yadav (47) helped India post 171 for 7 in 20 overs.

In reply, England were all out for 103 in the 17th over, with spin duo Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav claiming three wickets each as India stormed into the 2024 T20 World Cup final with a dominant 68-run victory.