Johannesburg [South Africa], South African batting legend AB de Villiers wants Team India to "throw the first punch" and be aggressive in their gameplay if they want to win the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup.
India will play Afghanistan in the ICC T20 World Cup Super Eight match in Barbados on Wednesday. India finished their group stage in Group A with three wins from three matches against Ireland, Pakistan and USA, while their last game against Canada ended in rain. Afghanistan finished the group stage in second place in Group C with three wins and a loss to the West Indies.
India will be aiming to end their trophy drought in ICC tournaments, having last won the T20 World Cup in 2013 and the ICC Champions Trophy after 50-over World Cup triumphs in 2007 and 2011.Since then, India have come closer to winning the tournament. Semi-finals and finals, but the results have always been wrong during the knockouts.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, de Villiers said, "Just make sure you throw the first punch. In the last World Cup, I think they have been a bit conservative, kind of feel their way into the game. They are a There are such quality teams I think they can take a little risk to gain momentum at the beginning of the game because once they gain momentum they will not look back.,
De Villiers also wants India's star batsman Virat Kohli to bat at number three during the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup, calling him "the best player in the world during the middle overs".
Virat, the leading run-scorer in T20 World Cup history, was expected to perform brilliantly in the tournament, as he has done consistently over the years. Rather, he has been performing extremely poorly, with scores of 1 (against Ireland), four (against Pakistan), and zero (against USA). Two of Virat's dismissals came when the batsman was taking an aggressive approach with the bat, while his dismissal against USA saw him hit the ball falling outside the off stump, which he often struggled with.
Virat arrives at the tournament after a stellar Indian Premier League (2024) season for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), where he scored 741 runs in 15 innings at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.69, which included one century and five fifties.Orange cap also won. Virat recorded the highest strike rate so far in his IPL career and performed exceptionally well against the spinners, adopting a more aggressive approach against them.
However, this aggressive approach did not work for them on the hard surfaces of New York's Nassau County International Stadium, which was criticized for bounce and poor play from the batsmen. But in West Indies, Virat will be eager to break his streak of poor scores by using his new style and playing a big innings. India will play its matches in Barbados, Antigua and St. Lucia.
De Villiers said on Virat, "I have always said that please let Virat bat at number three.Especially on the better wickets where he will play now, Virat is the guy to go at number three. "He can play aggressively and also come back. Take the pressure if necessary. He is the best player in the world in the middle overs. I don't see any reason (for opening).,
Indian team for T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dubey, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj. Reserve: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khalil Ahmed, Avesh Khan.
India will play Afghanistan in the ICC T20 World Cup Super Eight match in Barbados on Wednesday. India finished their group stage in Group A with three wins from three matches against Ireland, Pakistan and USA, while their last game against Canada ended in rain. Afghanistan finished the group stage in second place in Group C with three wins and a loss to the West Indies.
India will be aiming to end their trophy drought in ICC tournaments, having last won the T20 World Cup in 2013 and the ICC Champions Trophy after 50-over World Cup triumphs in 2007 and 2011.Since then, India have come closer to winning the tournament. Semi-finals and finals, but the results have always been wrong during the knockouts.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, de Villiers said, "Just make sure you throw the first punch. In the last World Cup, I think they have been a bit conservative, kind of feel their way into the game. They are a There are such quality teams I think they can take a little risk to gain momentum at the beginning of the game because once they gain momentum they will not look back.,
De Villiers also wants India's star batsman Virat Kohli to bat at number three during the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup, calling him "the best player in the world during the middle overs".
Virat, the leading run-scorer in T20 World Cup history, was expected to perform brilliantly in the tournament, as he has done consistently over the years. Rather, he has been performing extremely poorly, with scores of 1 (against Ireland), four (against Pakistan), and zero (against USA). Two of Virat's dismissals came when the batsman was taking an aggressive approach with the bat, while his dismissal against USA saw him hit the ball falling outside the off stump, which he often struggled with.
Virat arrives at the tournament after a stellar Indian Premier League (2024) season for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), where he scored 741 runs in 15 innings at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.69, which included one century and five fifties.Orange cap also won. Virat recorded the highest strike rate so far in his IPL career and performed exceptionally well against the spinners, adopting a more aggressive approach against them.
However, this aggressive approach did not work for them on the hard surfaces of New York's Nassau County International Stadium, which was criticized for bounce and poor play from the batsmen. But in West Indies, Virat will be eager to break his streak of poor scores by using his new style and playing a big innings. India will play its matches in Barbados, Antigua and St. Lucia.
De Villiers said on Virat, "I have always said that please let Virat bat at number three.Especially on the better wickets where he will play now, Virat is the guy to go at number three. "He can play aggressively and also come back. Take the pressure if necessary. He is the best player in the world in the middle overs. I don't see any reason (for opening).,
Indian team for T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dubey, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj. Reserve: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khalil Ahmed, Avesh Khan.
