Virat Kohli
Former India opener Aakash Chopra believes skipper Virat Kohli should be batting at No. 3 in the shortest format of the game. Following the Indian skipper's batting masterclass in the third T20I against England, Chopra feels there's a lot of 'up and down going on with Indian batting order'.
Kohli hammered 77 off 46 balls to help India reach 156/6 at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday. Following the unbeaten and match-winning 73 he made in the second T20I, Kohli notched up a skipper's knock once again.
India slipped to 24 for 3 at the end of the Powerplay but Kohli added 40 runs with Rishabh Pant to steady the run-flow. In the end, Kohli and Hardik Pandya 69 in the last five overs with the majority of those runs coming off the latter's bat. Kohli's masterful show with the bat wasn't enough as England's Jos Buttler eclipsed it with a blistering 83, helping his side to chase down the 156-run target with 10 deliveries to spare.
After Rohit Sharma's return at the top, Kohli had to bat at No.4, with KL Rahul opening the innings and young Ishan Kishan batting at the No.3 position.
“That was a masterclass and that’s what you expect from Virat Kohli. He knows how to pace the innings. I think the first 20-25 odd balls, he had scored 20 odd runs, less than a run-a-ball because wickets were falling at the other end. That was the need of the hour,” Chopra told Star Sports.
“But when he wants to up the ante, he can, because he has got all the shots in the book. He was at his dominating best. And you know what is good with Virat Kohli is that if he gets one big score, he will follow it up with another, he will get another if he gets another opportunity.
“But there is one issue, if you are the captain and you’re in that kind of form, the best position for you is that No. 3. Why are you batting at No. 4? Of course, that problem is their own making.
“You have got Ishan Kishan right at the top opening in one game and No. 3 in the next game, Virat Kohli had to go down to No. 4 which is not ideal.”
‘Too much up and down going on with India batting order’
With Shreyas Iyer pushed down to the No.6 position and Hardik Pandya coming in the middle at No.7, Chopra said that there is a lot of 'up and down' with regards to the batting order.
“Virat is showing it (how to deal with pace and bounce). He showed it the other day. But there is too much up and down with regards to the batting order. Shreyas, the man in form, was batting at 4 or 5, the other night, he was down to No. 6. Hardik is batting at No. 7, which is too low. These are concerns but they have to figure out something,” Chopra added.
