"Kohli's bat will finally have to talk now" - Aakash Chopra on India's batting heading into 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final vs England
Aakash Chopra wants Virat Kohli to be among the runs in India's 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final against England. He doesn't expect a high-scoring game and urged all batters to make meaningful contributions to help the team post a decent total.
The Men in Blue will face the defending champions in the second semi-final in Providence, Guyana, on June 27. The winner will face South Africa in the final in Bridgetown, Barbados, two days later.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that both Kohli and Rohit Sharma will have to give India a good start.
"I feel Rohit Sharma is there to protect the Indian team and Kohli's bat will finally have to talk now. We will need protection from not one but two players in opening. Since it's a 125 to 130-run match, it's great if Rohit fires, and even if he doesn't, I am thinking 20-25 runs from everyone," he said (3:25).
The former India opener reckons the inaugural T20 World Cup champions will need an all-round batting effort.
"I feel you should reach 130-135 somehow if you get to bat first. In such a scenario, small contributions become extremely valuable. Whether it's Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya or Shivam Dube, we want small performances from all of them, and it should work out with that," Chopra elaborated.
Kohli has aggregated a paltry 66 runs at an underwhelming average of 11.00 in six innings in the 2024 T20 World Cup. The other five batters in the top six have scored more than 100 runs, with Rohit (191) leading the pack.
"That is right down our alley" - Aakash Chopra on the likelihood of a low-scoring game
Aakash Chopra opined that a low-scoring game will favor India.
"When we see these conditions, we are not at all discussing that we are playing different kind of cricket. We played extremely conservative cricket against England last time. So we made a mistake there but this time when it's going to be just a 120 to 130-run game, that is right down our alley. I feel we will be able to manage that," he said (4:45).
The cricketer-turned-commentator reckons Rohit Sharma would want to bat first if he wins the toss.
"The Indian team will firstly bat first after winning the toss because runs are not scored on this ground. The average score is 120-odd. A rank-turner pitch has been prepared. It's looking like a slightly underprepared pitch. This is not a 160-run pitch unless someone has rolled it with water," Chopra reasoned.
Chopra concluded by saying that India will make life difficult for England if they bat first and score even 125. He added that the Men in Blue will definitely start as favorites considering the conditions.