India lost the third T20I which broke their 10-match winning streak.
Ex-India cricketer Ashish Nehra doesn't think Virat Kohli would be satisfied with India's chase in the third T20I against Australia at SCG. He questioned India's approach and the way they failed to finish the match.
Nehra even went on to say that India should use Hardik Pandya as a finisher and use Kohli only as an anchor. He pointed out that the India captain failed to finish the game despite the asking rate well within reach.
“The way Kohli started - 23 off 20, but when you’re set, in the middle overs as well he scored some 20 off 20 or 23 off 20. When he reached his 50, he had played 41 balls. After that, he scored 35 runs off the next 19 but from overs 7 to 15, when Dhawan and Samson got out, it all came down to Kohli,” Nehra said on Cricbuzz.
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Nehra gave the example of Royal Challengers Bangalore and said it's difficult for Kohli to finish the game on his own. “In the end, India needed 43 to win off three overs, something that many teams back themselves to pull off. I believe Kohli’s role in this Indian team is that of playing an anchor. That’s why his average is so high.
"We have discussed this earlier as well that even when he’s playing for RCB, it gets difficult to finish the game all by himself. There, he needs AB de Villiers for support. Here too, he needed Hardik Pandya’s support,” Nehra explained.
“In the previous game, as long as Pandya stood there. If Pandya gets out and Kohli stays, India has a higher chance of losing the game. And if Kohli gets out and Pandya stays, you’ll have a higher chance of winning. Pandya was able to do that and even Kohli knows it - what his game is and what Pandya’s is. He needs players around him.”
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)