South Africa’s leader, Aiden Markram, was not giving away any details about how his team plans to handle India’s top player, Virat Kohli, in the T20 World Cup final in Barbados. The two strongest teams in the competition are the only ones left, and for the first time since the tournament began, a team that hasn’t lost a game will become the T20 World Cup champion. India is keen to win an ICC trophy again after not doing so since 2014, and they will play against South Africa, who are in their first-ever World Cup final, whether it’s the 50-over or 20-over version. South Africa hopes to make this achievement even more memorable by taking home the championship.
Virat Kohli had a great season playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). He scored 741 runs, which was the most by any player, with an average of 61.75 and a fast strike rate of 154.69. This included one hundred and five scores of fifty or more. However, in the T20 World Cup, Kohli has not been able to play as well. Even though he did very well in the IPL, in the current tournament he has only scored 75 runs in seven games, with an average of 10.71.
For a short time, there was a sign of Kohli getting back to his best when he hit a ball over mid-wicket for six runs off Reece Topley, suggesting he might be improving. But Topley quickly got him out, showing that Kohli is still having trouble. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma has been doing really well, scoring 248 runs—with a fast 92 off just 41 balls against Australia—averaging more than 40. In contrast, Kohli’s performance has been let down. He has been out without scoring twice and only has two scores over ten in seven games, which is a big difference from his successful IPL season.
Markram recognized Kohli’s skill but didn’t worry about the Indian star’s recent poor performance in the competition. “We’re in the big final, and everyone knows how good a player he is. So, any plan we have and are you worried that he hasn’t scored many runs in the tournament? I mean, I’m not worried about it,” Markram said during a media interview.
Markram also talked about how much he respects Kohli’s abilities and pointed out the strong batting lineup of the Indian team. “He’s a fantastic player, as we all know, but they have a whole team of great batters. Cricket is a game with highs and lows. You won’t always perform well, especially as a batter. We just focus on our planning and preparation for facing those batters. Hopefully, we can get it right on the day,” he added.
