Virat Kohli made 76 runs to help India put 176/6 on the board and was named Player of the Final.
Sanjay Manjrekar, former cricketer-turned-expert, has slammed Virat Kohli for his knock in the final of the T20 World Cup 2024. Kohli made 76 runs as India won the tournament by defeating South Africa in the final in Barbados on June 29.
India had opted to bat first and Virat Kohli anchored one end with 76 runs in 59 balls after the side was reduced to 34/3 in no time inside the powerplay. Axar Patel made 47 and added 72 runs with Virat Kohli. Interestingly, Kohli didn’t hit a boundary for almost 7-8 overs in the middle.
Heinrich Klaasen made 56 as he, Quinton de Kock, and David Miller brought down the equation to 26 form 28 balls. But Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, and Jasprit Bumrah kept their cool in the last three overs as India snuck home by 7 runs and become two-time champions.
Sanjay Manjrekar suggested that Kohli's knock of 76 runs off 59 balls put India in a spot of bother before the pace bowlers came to the rescue. Manjrekar also said that his choice for the Player of the Match would've been an Indian bowler, not Kohli.
"By playing that innings, Hardik Pandya, one of their most devastating batters, had just two balls to face. So I thought India's batting was good, but Virat Kohli had potentially played an innings that would've put India in a tight corner. And it almost proved to be that, before these guys' bowlers came in the end.
India was in a losing position, 90 percent winning chances (for South Africa). The complete turnaround actually saved Virat Kohli's innings because he played virtually half the innings with a strike-rate of 128. My Player of the Match would've been a bowler because they actually took the game from the jaws of defeat and won it for India," Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.
On the other hand, Andy Flower, fellow panelist with Manjrekar said that India had done enough with the bat by putting 176 runs on the board. But, he did admit that had Rohit Sharma's men lost the match, Kohli would've courted plenty of criticism.
"If India had been pipped there, there would've been a lot of criticism going Virat Kohli's way, I'd reckon. At the halfway mark, I thought India had enough, and that it would be a very difficult chase for South Africa," he said.