India captain Rohit Sharma praised the manner in which his vice-captain and opening partner KL Rahul batted in the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 match against Bangladesh saying that such a performance by the right-handed batter can put the team in a “different position” altogether.
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Rahul, who didn’t hesitate from getting his eye in initially, ensured to convert a cautious start into a 21st T20I half-century. Having scored 50 (32) with the help of three fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 156.25, Rahul literally gifted his wicket to the opposition right after a personal milestone.
Having said that, Rahul’s 20th T20I half-century as an opener, eighth under Sharma, fifth at a neutral venue and in 2022 and second against Bangladesh and in Australia covered up another failure by Sharma in addition to providing India with a solid foundation.
Rohit Sharma hails Virat Kohli’s tremendous T20 World Cup 2022 form
While Rahul was dismissed right before the halfway mark, former India captain Virat Kohli made it a point to bat till the end. A 36th T20I half-century for the 33-year old player powered him to his 15th T20I Player of the Match award (fourth in Australia).
Scoring 64* (44) at a strike rate of 145.45 set Kohli is motion to become the highest run-scorer in both the ongoing World Cup and in the history of T20 World Cups.
Asked about if he believes that Kohli has returned to peak form with yet another masterclass in the shortest format, Sharma was quick to mention that his predecessor never moved away from peak form according to him.
“In my opinion, he [Virat Kohli] was always there. It was a matter of few innings here and there. He got it in the Asia Cup. We never had any doubts and the way he has been batting in this World Cup has been tremendous and he is really doing it for us,” Sharma told the broadcaster during the post-match presentation ceremony.
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Since Kohli’s one-month long break before Asia Cup 2022, he has scored 624 runs in 14 T20I innings at an average of 78 and a strike rate of 142.79 including a century and six half-centuries.
