The audience is all set to watch the ODI World Cup semi-finals between India and New Zealand. Fans are intrigued to watch Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's performance.
Crores of cricket fans are all set for the big semi-final between India and New Zealand at Mumbai’s iconic Wankhede Stadium. There is a lot of curiosity around the Men in Blue’s strategy for the crunch game, whether India captain Rohit Sharma will play the same aggressive brand of cricket which has seen him choose for bang bang batting from ball one in this World Cup. Or will Rohit Sharma play in a calmer manner, since it's a knockout which makes the approach riskier as there is no second chance if it fails?
Barring two games, the against Australia in Chennai and Sri Lanka in Mumbai, Rohit Sharma has given India good starts in the rest seven games, scoring 503 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 121.49, which has made it easy for the rest of the batters to follow. He has hit 60 sixes already in this World Cup and has not been shy in going after the bowlers, stepping out and charging against pacers.
Similarly, Virat Kohli too has been in great form scoring 594 runs at an average of 99 and both these Indian stars have been the main scorers for Team India.
When Rohit Sharma failed, Virat Kohli rose to shine and if Kohli didn't click then the Hitman ensured that India had either chased down a target or put up a good score. There has not been a single game where both have failed, and the Indian camp would be definitely wary of it. Yes, the likes of Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul all have contributed but if comes a scenario where both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli fail in the knockout, then will the others soak up the pressure?
The track record of Rohit Sharma in the knockout rounds is another statistic that should be concerning to all Indian supporters. If Virat lost by only one in 2015, Rohit Sharm had scored 34. When Rohit Sharma attempted a duck in the 2017 Champion Trophy finals versus Pakistan, Virat fell for just five. In 2019's final semifinal, both Indian heavyweights were defeated by just one. India was trailing and ultimately lost all three of the aforementioned games.
While speaking with Zaheer Khan, former Indian cricketer in this regard, he said that India needs to be prepared for it and must have plan B or Plan C in such a scenario and need to tackle it. Though it remains to be seen how the semifinal plays out, Indian supporters will be hopeful that the momentum will keep up and India will advance to the finals.
The author of this article is Anis Sajan, cricket enthusiast and prominent businessman who serves as Vice Chairman, Danube Group.
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 "World Cup 2023: What if Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli fail to deliver in semi-finals against NZ?")
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