Ashish Nehra, former Indian lanky pacer feels current Indian skipper Virat Kohli will be disappointed after not finishing winning the third T20I against Australia on Wednesday.
Needing a stiff 187 to win after Matthew Wade scored 80 and Glenn Maxwell scored 54, Virat Kohli led India’s chase with a counter-attacking 85 off 61 balls but was unable to keep up with the much-needed momentum keeping in mind the required run rate.
Ashish Nehra : Virat Kohli Needed Support From Other End
In the end, India needed 36 off the last two overs, Virat Kohli fell to Andrew Tye in the penultimate 19th over while being under considerable pressure as the asking rate kept on increasing which resulted in Australia eventually winning the match by 12 runs. Still, India won T20I series 2-1.
Virat Kohli has in the past pulled off many incredible run chases for India in both T20Is and ODIs, which in fact saw him being associated with the tag ‘Master of the chase’ for India.
However, pacer Ashish Nehra explained that although the skipper was quick to get off the blocks, he struggled to maintain the same scoring rate in the middle overs, which eventually cost India the match.
“The way Kohli started – 23 off 20, but when you’re set, in the middle overs as well he scored some 20 off 20 or 23 off 20. When he reached his 50, he had played 41 balls. After that, he scored 35 runs off the next 19 but from overs 7 to 15, when Dhawan and Samson got out, it all came down to Kohli,” Ashish Nehra said on Cricbuzz.
Ashish Nehra feels India would be better off using Virat Kohli as an anchor than as a finisher while adding that the India captain needs someone for support when the team is chasing such stiff targets. Ashish Nehra reckons the responsibility of finishing a match should be left on likes of Hardik Pandya.
“In the end, India needed 43 to win off three overs, something that many teams back themselves to pull off. I believe Kohli’s role in this Indian team is that of playing an anchor. That’s why his average is so high.
“We have discussed this earlier as well that even when he’s playing for RCB, it gets difficult to finish the game all by himself. There, he needs AB de Villiers for support. Here too, he needed Hardik Pandya’s support,” Ashish Nehra explained.
Virat Kohli averages a high 80.29 while chasing in 36 T20I innings. He averages a modest 33.57 in 43 innings while batting first in T20Is.
Ashish Nehra: India Have Higher Chance Of Winning When Virat Kohli Gets Out And Hardik Pandya Stays
For Australia, opener Matthew Wade scored 80 off 53 balls, and Glenn Maxwell scored 54 off 36 balls with all Indian bowlers conceding more than 8 runs per over. Man of the Match spinner Mitchell Swepson then took 3/23 picking up crucial wickets of Shikhar Dhawan, Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer.
“In the previous game, as long as Pandya stood there. If Pandya gets out and Kohli stays, India have a higher chance of losing the game. And if Kohli gets out and Pandya stays, you’ll have a higher chance of winning. Pandya was able to do that and even Kohli knows it – what his game is and what Pandya’s is. He needs players around him.”
Virat Kohli scored 85 while Hardik Pandya looked threatening enough scoring 20 off 13 balls but was dismissed by Adam Zampa. However, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer’s failure and losing regular wickets in 3rd T20I hurt India most in the stiff run chase. Tailender Shardul Thakur scored 17 off 7 balls, but it came too late.