Smith, Williamson, Root, Kohli: Rating the performances of the Big Four in the T20 World Cup 2016

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli’s performances brought in praise from all and sundry.

Going into the tournament, a billion Indian hopes rested on Virat Kohli and he certainly did not disappoint them. In fact, it can be said that he ended up doing more than anyone could have wished for. But unfortunately, he got very little support from his teammates at the other end.

The much vaunted Indian batting line-up failed to fire throughout the tournament. Whilst India’s opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan flopped time and again the middle order comprising of Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh did very little to help. Amidst all the mayhem, it took a Herculean effort from Kohli as he stood tall to take India till the semi-final stage.

He missed out in the opening game against the Kiwis that saw India succumb to an embarrassing defeat in an easy run-chase. After that, Kohli seemed to be a man on a mission. Against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens, India had lost some early wickets when Kohli took on the mantle. He played masterfully against Amir and Irfan to score a match-winning unbeaten 55.

Against Australia in the virtual quarter-final, he revved it up a notch to score an incredible 82 off 51 balls. India looked down and out at one stage but Kohli launched a rare onslaught in the final three overs to leave the Aussies shell-shocked. He continued the good work against the Windies in the semi-final as he scored a blistering 47-ball 89 to take India to 192 for 2.

The Indian bowlers, however, let the team down as the West Indies romped home quite easily in the end. In an unlikely move, Kohli bowled the 14th over and removed the well-set Johnson Charles off his first ball conceding only 4 runs in that over.

He also surprisingly was handed the last over but could not repeat the unlikely heroics again. But he has carried India on his shoulders in the tournament.

Verdict: Kohli showed how gifted he was as a batsman as he played normal cricketing strokes to find the gaps and yet managed a strike-rate of 146.77 in the tournament. He finished with 273 runs from 5 matches at an average of 136.50 and was adjudged the Player of the Tournament.

Many early and perhaps unfair comparisons with Tendulkar have begun to surface already. Kohli would, however, hope that he gets more support from the other batsmen around him and does not have to win matches single-handedly for India.

Rating: 9.5/10