In Men in Blue’s high-profile ICC T20 World Cup Super 8s match against Australia, former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa stated on Sunday that he hopes to see a strong half-century from top India batsman Virat Kohli, even if it comes at a lower strike rate than anticipated. On Monday, Australia and India will play a crucial match in Saint Lucia. With two victories in two games and four points, India leads Group One. In their prior match, they defeated Bangladesh by a margin of 50 runs.
Conversely, with a win and a loss for two points, Australia holds the second position. They shockingly lost their last game by 21 runs against Afghanistan.
Virat has amassed 66 runs in five games during the current competition, with a best score of 37, at an average of 13.20 and a strike rate of 108.19. Even though Virat has hit knocks of 24 and 37 in Super Eights, he had trouble with the Nassau County Stadium pitches in New York, scoring just 1, 4, and 0 on pitches that are frequently criticized for having poor bounce and play for batters.
It was believed that Virat, the greatest run scorer in T20 World Cup history, would dominate the competition, as he has done year after year. He entered the competition fresh off of an incredible Indian Premier League (2024) season in which he led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to victory by amassing 741 runs in 15 innings at 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.69, along with five hundreds and a century. Virat was great against spinners, adopting a more offensive stance against them, and he recorded the greatest strike rate of his IPL career.
Speaking with the Indian spin veteran Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel, Uthappa stated that a good blow from Virat before the semifinals can energize India, emphasizing that once he has a “taste of blood,” he can achieve anything.
“What can empower Team India to have the best team possible? I think one is to get a solid Virat Kohli innings from him, especially looking at the whole tournament’s perspective. I want a 65-70 not out. Even if you get a 120-125 strike rate, I do not really care. I want that one solid innings from Virat Kohli. Because once he gets that little taste of blood, That human being can do anything. And for me, before we hit the semifinals, I want him to have that one innings at 150, I want him to get,” said Uthappa.
Additionally, Uthappa encouraged captain Rohit Sharma to maintain his aggressive strategy at the top, adding, “Rohit is very clear with the way he approaches his batting. I think he should continue to play the way he feels and believes that is the best way he will serve the team.”
Rohit has scored 99 runs with a strike average of over 125 and a fifty-strike rate in five games. This match, his best score is 52*, which he scored against Ireland.
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