Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been easily the best batsman in world cricket for the past few years. As India take on New Zealand in the first semifinal of the ICC World Cup at Old Trafford on Tuesday, the match is projected as a battle between the Indian top order consisting of Rohit Sharma, K L Rahul and Kohli against the New Zealand seam attack comprising Trent Boult, Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson.
Indian opener Rohit has been in the form of his life as he has amassed more than 600 runs and became the first batsman to score five hundreds in a single World Cup. Rahul, who was promoted up the order after regular opener Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the competition with a hairline fracture, has done a good job so far. Kohli, meanwhile, has been consistency personified with 441 runs and five fifties from eight matches.
Kohli, who began the 2011 and 2015 World Cups with a hundred, is yet to notch up a ton in this edition. While the Indian fans are expecting him to peak at the crunch here is a statistic which won’t gladden their hearts. In his five previous World Cup knockout games, Kohli has failed to register a single half-century, with 35 against Sri Lanka in the 2011 final being his highest score.
The mainstay of the Indian batting has managed just 72 runs from five innings at a lowly average of 14.4. Kohli even failed to enter the double digits on three occasions. He made 24 against Australia in the 2011 quarterfinals followed by nine against Pakistan in the semifinals. Kohli was dismissed for three in the 2015 quarterfinals against Bangladesh and then fell for just one in the semifinal clash with Australia.
India will need Kohli to be at his best against the Black Caps. Kohli will be aware of his poor record in the big games and one can only hope that he will set the record straight this time.