Bridgetown [Barbados] India's opening duo Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma's run in the T20 World Cup ended after they once again failed to click in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa at Kensington Oval on Saturday.
In eight matches, the stalwart pair of batsmen managed to accumulate 133 runs at an average of 16,625. After failing to score runs on the difficult New York surface, his batting woes continued in the West Indies as well.
The duo failed to cross the 50-run mark even once during the entire tournament. While playing in New York during the group stage, the duo managed to score 35 runs in three matches.
In the Caribbean, the duo opened for India four times and managed to amass 87 runs. His highest partnership of 39 runs was against Bangladesh in the Super 8 stage.
They had one last chance to erase the past by carving out an influential position against a ferocious South African bowling line-up.
In the final, after India won the toss and elected to bat, the duo looked well set to score big after reaching 23 runs in just 1.3 overs.
But Keshav Maharaj took India's wings by removing in-form batsman Rohit for a score of 9 (5). The Indian captain did everything right as he tried to find the boundary with a swept shot but failed to hold it. The ball fell directly into the hands of Heinrich Klaasen. In their last outing as the opening pair in the T20 World Cup, the duo of Rohit and Kohli made 23 for India.
Despite Rohit's dismissal, Kohli continued to play with composure till the end of the penultimate over.
After lifting his bat for a half-century in 48 deliveries, Kohli began to accelerate in the last three overs. He set the tone in the 18th over by whipping the ball into orbit for a towering six off the first ball off Kagiso Rabada.
A quick double off the next delivery was followed by a classic shot to find the fence for four. He hit the ball into the stand for a six and effortlessly found the fence for a four before returning to the dugout with a score of 76 (59) in the next over. His efforts propelled India to a score of 176/7.
In eight matches, the stalwart pair of batsmen managed to accumulate 133 runs at an average of 16,625. After failing to score runs on the difficult New York surface, his batting woes continued in the West Indies as well.
The duo failed to cross the 50-run mark even once during the entire tournament. While playing in New York during the group stage, the duo managed to score 35 runs in three matches.
In the Caribbean, the duo opened for India four times and managed to amass 87 runs. His highest partnership of 39 runs was against Bangladesh in the Super 8 stage.
They had one last chance to erase the past by carving out an influential position against a ferocious South African bowling line-up.
In the final, after India won the toss and elected to bat, the duo looked well set to score big after reaching 23 runs in just 1.3 overs.
But Keshav Maharaj took India's wings by removing in-form batsman Rohit for a score of 9 (5). The Indian captain did everything right as he tried to find the boundary with a swept shot but failed to hold it. The ball fell directly into the hands of Heinrich Klaasen. In their last outing as the opening pair in the T20 World Cup, the duo of Rohit and Kohli made 23 for India.
Despite Rohit's dismissal, Kohli continued to play with composure till the end of the penultimate over.
After lifting his bat for a half-century in 48 deliveries, Kohli began to accelerate in the last three overs. He set the tone in the 18th over by whipping the ball into orbit for a towering six off the first ball off Kagiso Rabada.
A quick double off the next delivery was followed by a classic shot to find the fence for four. He hit the ball into the stand for a six and effortlessly found the fence for a four before returning to the dugout with a score of 76 (59) in the next over. His efforts propelled India to a score of 176/7.
