World Cup: Will Virat Kohli dispel his semi-finals woes?
India and New Zealand will square off in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup first semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Once again, India will bank upon Virat Kohli's Midas touch that has been making waves of late. Although Kohli has been in sublime form, his poor run in the ODI WC semi-finals could haunt him. Here are the key stats.
Why does this story matter?
Kohli is undoubtedly the modern-day master in terms of batting, especially in limited-overs cricket. He has won India several momentous games single-handedly. However, he is yet to show his class in the semi-finals of ODI World Cups. Although India beat Pakistan in the 2011 WC semi-final, Australia and New Zealand defeated the Men in Blue in 2015 and 2019, respectively.
His record in WC semis
Kohli, who was finding his way a decade ago, scored just 9(21) against Pakistan in the 2011 WC semi-finals. By 2015, he was the heartbeat of India's batting order. He fared well but scored 1(13) while chasing 329 against Australia in the WC semis. Four years later, Kohli once again failed in the semis. He scored just 1(6) against NZ while chasing 240.
Scores of current Indian batters in ODI WC semi-finals
A look at scores of the current Indian batters in ODI World Cup semi-finals: Kohli - 9, 1, 1; Ravindra Jadeja: 16, 77; Rohit Sharma: 34, 1; KL Rahul: 1, R Ashwin: 5, and Mohammed Shami: 1*.
Kohli eyes this feat
Kohli has been on song and is the leading run-scorer in World Cup 2023. He has smashed 594 runs from nine matches at an astonishing average of 99.00. The tally includes two tons and five half-centuries. In the upcoming encounter, Kohli could break Tendulkar's record for scoring the most runs in a World Cup edition (673 in 2003).
