Former Indian cricket team batsman Sanjay Manjrekar, in his latest column, has expressed confidence that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will not repeat the mistakes of the 2022 semi-final match against England in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024.
Let it be known that in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-finals, India had to face defeat at the hands of England by 10 wickets.
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Sanjay Manjrekar explained in detail in his column that in that semi-final match, India had scored only 168 runs while batting first, in which the slow batting of the top order batsmen was the main reason. Rohit Sharma scored 27 runs in 28 balls at a strike rate of 96, while Virat Kohli scored 50 runs in 40 balls at a strike rate of 125.
Manjrekar reminded that it was Hardik Pandya’s quickfire 63 off 33 balls at a strike rate of 190 in that match that helped India post a respectable total. However, England achieved the target in 16 overs without losing a wicket.
However, Manjrekar praised Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for their recent form. Rohit impressed everyone with his aggressive batting in the Cricket World Cup 2023, while Kohli emerged as the highest run-scorer in the recently-concluded IPL 2024.
Manjrekar wrote in his column, “Having said that, we can be sure of one thing. Rohit and Virat will not repeat the mistakes made in the semi-finals. It is fair to admit that Virat is no longer the same T20 player he was two years ago. He must know deep down that the ‘outside noise’ has made him a better T20 batsman today than he was two years ago.”
In conclusion, Manjrekar said, “Is there still a risk attached to Virat – that when it comes to the big stage, knockout games, he gets preoccupied with batting for long periods rather than batting fast? In the interest of Indian cricket, let’s hope this preoccupation stays buried deep.”
India will start their campaign against Ireland on June 5, and fans are hoping that the Indian team will perform better this time.
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