Virat Kohli Is HURTING India At T20 World Cup 2026

India miss Virat Kohli’s chasing masterclass: The India National Cricket Team have been handed their first defeat after a 12-match winning streak at the T20 World Cups. The Men in Blue lost their first game after 17-matches in ICC competitions by 76 runs against South Africa on Sunday at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Suryakumar Yadav’s side was bowled out for 111 runs while chasing a massive target of 188 runs. South Africa have their revenge in the 2024 T20 World Cup final, when India lifted their second title, beating the Proteas in Barbados. India has chased the 160+ targets thrice in their T20 World Cup history.

T20 World Cup Stats Reveal India’s Overdependence On Virat Kohli

The record run chase came back in 2014 against the same opposition, chasing 173 runs at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, Dhaka. The other two were in 2016 against Australia, and the final one was against Pakistan. In all three of these occasions, it was Virat Kohli who was named as the player of the match.

This showcased why Virat Kohli has been the greatest chaser and always delivered under pressure for India. During the 2022 T20 World Cup against Pakistan, India were 31/4 while chasing 160 runs. It was Kohli’s masterclass at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia, as he led India’s historic win against their arch-rivals.

Whenever India chased 150+ in the T20 World Cup, one name echoed louder than the rest – Virat Kohli 👑#T20WorldCup #ViratKohli #IndianCricket #InsideSport #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/3evinLSNZS

— InsideSport (@InsideSportIND) February 22, 2026

Kohli has scored three fifty-plus scores in these three games, with all of them being unbeaten knocks. In 2014, against the Proteas, it was a knock of 72 runs, then in 2016 against Australia in Nagpur, it was 82*, and against Pakistan, it was also the same score of 82*.

Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav Haven’t Filled The Virat Kohli Void

First, it was Suryakumar Yadav who filled in the position for Virat Kohli. However, from the South Africa tour, Tilak Varma has been batting at No.3 despite the latter scoring runs in the bilateral series; the pressure for a World Cup has been different.

It takes a lot more accountability to score runs under pressure. So far, Tilak has failed to fill the void of Kohli, as the latter has always taken the responsibility at that position and won matches for India single-handedly from difficult circumstances.

Virat Kohli T20 World Cup Stats

Kohli holds the record for a 67.58 average in a victorious T20I run chase in the T20 World Cups. In his five editions of the T20 World Cups, he has only been dismissed once in a run chase in a T20I. The name ‘Chase Master’ in ODI and T20I has been for a reason.

From critical situations like 2/3, Kohli has taken India home in the white-ball format of the game. In the 2024 T20 World Cup final, a similar position was there like last night with 34/3 against the same opposition, South Africa. A knock of 76 off 59 balls helped India post a target of 176/7 in their 20 overs.

Kohli has been a big-match player for the side until the final he failed to score a single fifty in the competition. This has been one of the reasons he has been India’s ‘crisis’ man in the white-ball format.

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