Virat Kohli, the experienced batsman, will be closely watched as Team India faces New Zealand in the first semi-final of the 2023 World Cup at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday. Kohli, who is 35 years old, has been playing exceptionally well in the ICC tournament and hopes to continue his good form.
Kohli enters the 2023 World Cup knockout stage as the top run-scorer, accumulating 594 runs in nine innings at an impressive average of 99 and a strike rate of 88.52. He has scored two centuries and five half-centuries in the tournament.
The right-handed batsman started the World Cup strongly with an 85 against Australia in Chennai, and continued with an unbeaten 55 against Afghanistan in Delhi.
He recorded scores of 103* against Bangladesh in Pune, 95 against New Zealand in Dharamsala, 88 against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, 101* against South Africa in Kolkata, and 51 against Netherlands in Bengaluru.
Virat Kohli’s performance in the semi-finals of the ODI World Cup has not been impressive
Kohli, despite his excellent performance in the 2023 World Cup, hasn’t performed well in the semi-finals of the ICC event, being dismissed for single-figure scores in all three instances.
In the 2011 World Cup semi-final against Pakistan, Kohli scored 9 off 21 balls before being caught at backward point off Wahab Riaz. However, he played a vital role in the final, contributing 35 against Sri Lanka.
In the 2015 World Cup semi-final against Australia, he was dismissed for 1 off 13 balls, top-edging a short ball off Mitchell Johnson, as India lost by 95 runs in response to a target of 329.
Kohli faced another setback in the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in Manchester, getting out for 1 as he was lbw to Trent Boult’s full delivery that swung past the bat. India fell short in the chase, being bowled out for 221 in pursuit of 240, resulting in an 18-run defeat.
Interestingly, Kohli has been dismissed by left-arm pacers in all three of his ODI World Cup semi-final appearances. He will once again face Trent Boult on Wednesday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
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