India skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday (March 16) backed KL Rahul to come good in the upcoming games, saying he is “a champion player” who remains the best candidate along with Rohit Sharma for the opening slot in the shortest format.
Rahul is having a terrible time in the ongoing T20I series against England, recording scores of 1, 0 and 0 in three games so far.
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Kohli, who was dismissed for a duck in the fourth Test and the first T20I against England before he regained his mojo with unbeaten scores of 73 and 77, said it is a matter of few balls.
“I was going through a lean patch two days back. He (KL Rahul) has been a champion player. He’ll continue to be one of our main players along with Rohit at the top of the order,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony after his team’s 8-wicket defeat.
“It’s a matter of five-six balls in this format.”
Kohli, who was the lone warrior with the bat in the third T20I, admitted that it was tough facing the new ball.
“You don’t want to play knocks which don’t help the team in any way. It was a bit difficult to bat against the new ball. Their bowlers were hitting good areas,” he said.
“The England bowlers attacked right lines and lengths and with their pace they became more potent.
“We got one little partnership, it was important for me to bat deep. The case was to get set and try to get a decent total. We lacked intensity in the second half.”
Talking about Pandya, Kohli said, "We want to give Hardik a bit more responsibility with the ball; we know what he can do with the bat.”
For restricting the hosts on 156/6 in 20 overs, England skipper Eoin Morgan praised his bowlers.
Mark Wood was the stand-out bowler for the visitors, claiming 3 wickets by conceding 31 runs in his four overs. Chris Jordan (2-35) also chipped in with a couple of scalps while leg-spinner Adil Rashid (0-26) bowled economically.
“When you look at conditions tonight, Adil started well and when the pacers came on, the carry that we saw was a bit of a surprise for us. I thought the first half of our bowling was exceptional,” he said.
“The wicket stayed similar, throughout all the games, and if you lose early wickets at the top that raises a question. It’s just a dynamic of T20 cricket.”
In reply, England rode on Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 83 off 52 balls to overhaul the target with 10 balls to spare.
“Jos is a world-class player and he has averaged upwards of 50 and striking at 150 at the top. There’s very little you have to say to Jos. He’s been in incredible form and he’s a great leader within our group,” Morgan said.
(With PTI inputs)
