The Adelaide record of Virat Kohli may not be favourable for England in the T20 World Cup semifinal
Image credit: BBC
Even though he is the leading run-scorer in the competition, cricket’s biggest star is not the one everyone is talking about ahead of Thursday’s T20 World Cup semifinal versus England.
It is actually Suryakumar Yadav, also known as SKY.
Despite having 21 fewer runs than Kohli in this event, Suryakumar has still amassed 225 runs at an astounding strike rate of 193.96.
Jos Buttler, the captain of England, was asked how he would stop Suryakumar during his pre-game press conference, not Kohli.
As a result, Kohli has, once again, faded into the background.
It’s debatable if the 34-year-old will appreciate a break from the spotlight. But Kohli shouldn’t be taken lightly.
It is the location where a 23-year-old Kohli, who had a little rounder face, shouted in celebration of his first century in Test cricket.
Nearly two years later, he returned as a global superstar, batted a hundred in both innings, and held off Australia for more than nine hours over two innings.
Even though the legendary Don Bradman, whose statue is behind one of the stands, has more international centuries at the Adelaide Oval than Kohli, the comparison is unjust.
With two one-day international hundreds to go along with his three in four Test hundreds, Kohli averages 75.58 in all formats at the venue.
And he hasn’t been dismissed in either of the two Twenty20 games.
He scored a magnificent 90 runs against Australia in 2016 and an unbeaten 64 against Bangladesh in the World Cup’s group stage.
He previously said, “That knock at the MCG was meant to be, but when I come here, it’s like I’m meant to come to Adelaide and enjoy my batting.”
For the rest of the game, every flick or strong strike made the sound of the ball striking willow reverberate across the empty oval.
He carried two bats into the nets, placing one carefully so that it would support the back of the stumps.
You could say that he was settling in.
Even though Kohli isn’t the sole talk of the town, one should still be afraid of him.
Attention, England.