Virat Kohli bid his T20I adieu in style Saturday as Team India triumphed in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa in Barbados though it was an enthralling climax. The Indian batter was relatively conservative with his shot selection in the entire tournament till the final, though he surfaced as the champion when asked to bat first, India lost their top-order cheaply in the power play.
Virat Kohli’s Experience Proves Vital as India Battles to Stay Afloat
Kohli who partnered with Sharma in the first slot could not strike much during the T20Is in the 2024 segment as he changed his strategy to aggressive. However, the twists and turns in the final were that wickets were falling at a fast and reckless rate, thus requiring the inspiration of a calculated figure who would help the team regain its composure. Competition which was this intense was something that Kohli, in particular, was well aware of how things would play out in such scenarios.
Virat Kohli’s Evolution: The Masterclass on Adapting to New Demands
He gathered a decent partnership with Axar Patel (47) to bring back India back into the scene and gain a good score of 176/7 in the feature twenty overs. Kohli was awarded the Player of the Match title after India’s victory, in an interview with broadcaster Star Sports while responding to the question about challenging his game the Indian talisman admitted he has had to remodel himself to fit the intensity of the Rohit Sharma led team.
Virat Kohli’s Resilience and Hunger for Success on Full Display
Thus, Andy Flower, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s coach with whom Kohli has recently worked at the Indian Premier League, admitted that India’s batsman dealt with an illness that altered his technique. Flower appreciated Kohli’s ‘hungry’ attitude and the desire to go out of the comfort zone being fully aware it would be his last series in the particular format.
“What a lovely way to go out of T20Is. He had a brilliant IPL, didn’t he? He showed what he could do. I must say… I’ve said it before, but I’ll repeat it because it’s important. Watching a guy in his mid-30s who has done so much in the world game and in the IPL push himself to develop his game even further, at this stage of his career was really impressive,” Flower told ESPNCricinfo.
“It showed the depth of his hunger and desire to do better, to push himself for his good and the good of his team. I loved watching that. I can’t disagree with Sanjay (Manjrekar) that Tests and ODIs are his absolute sweet spots. But he has been a brilliant T20 cricketer, what an amazing man to watch play. Hopefully, we are going to see him do outstanding things in whatever T20 cricket he has got left.”
Virat Kohli Ends as 2nd Highest run scorer in T20Is
Virat Kohli had been the pillar of Indian T20I batting till the end; he hit 4188 runs in 125 T20Is at an average of 48. 69. Rohit Sharma also bid adieu to T20I cricket and he finished as the leading run-scorer in T20I with 4231 runs in 159 matches.