Opening the batting with skipper Rohit Sharma, Kohli hasn’t had the kind of start his fans expected of him at the T20 World Cup, with his three innings totaling a mere 5 runs in 9 balls.
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Kohli’s knocks of 1, 4 and 0 have also raised questions whether asking him to open is a correct move. However, playing in the same position for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Kohli scored a tournament-highest 741 runs in the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League just before the T20 World Cup.
Facing up to the tricky Afghanistan at the Kensington Oval on Thursday, Kohli and Rohit will be up against a challenge that former South Africa speedster Dale Steyn sees as a big danger for the Indian openers
“Be careful Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma; he can knock your pegs up,” said Steyn in a Star Sports video, talking about the in-form Afghan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi.
The left-arm fast bowler has invariably tore into opposition’s top order in this tournament, and his wicket-taking consistency has put him on top of the bowling charts with 12 wickets in four matches, including a best of 5 for 9. Farooqui’s economy rate of 5.58 is as impressive as his wickets tally.
Among the Afghan batters, Steyn felt opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz can get stuck into the Indian pacers, which makes his duel with Jasprit Bumrah as the one to watch out for.
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Interestingly, while Steyn alerted Kohli and Rohit to the danger posed by Farooqi, the South African didn’t pick either of the two openers as the Indian batsman to watch out for in the contest.
“Starting with India, from a bowling point of view, Jasprit Bumrah. Absolutely phenomenal! He’s great with all three disciplines – Tests, T20s, ODIs,” said Steyn.
Talking about Indian batting, Steyn said, “SKY (Suryakumar Yadav) is gonna come good with the bat. Just watch out for him from India’s point of view.”
India and Afghanistan are placed in Group 1 of the ‘Super 8s’ stage alongside Australia and Bangladesh.
