T20 World Cup final would feel worse than a debut for Virat Kohli as there won’t be another chance afterwards

1, 4, 0, 24, 37, 0 & 9. Wondering what these numbers are for! They are to remind you that Virat Kohli has had a horrible T20 World Cup so far. These are the scores he has got for all his toil in the ongoing tournament.

But at present, we can ignore these numbers, because despite his no-show with the bat, Team India has managed to reach the final where they will face South Africa at Bridgetown later tonight.

Kohli wouldn’t mind to have another bad outing in the final provided the team goes on to lift the trophy. But there is an even better scenario to contemplate: that he makes a big score and helps India break the jinx in ICC tournaments in recent years.

By all accounts, tonight’s game is going to be Kohli’s last appearance in a T20I. The kind of player he has been all these years, he would definitely love to contribute in his T20I swansong. No way would he like to be remembered for contributing very little in his last T20 World Cup, given his stature and past performances.

This is the first T20 World Cup where Kohli has looked at sixes and sevens. The 35-year-old, Man of the Tournament in 2014 & 2016 and highest scorer in tournament history, has struggled to get going this time around. It’s not entirely his fault though.

For the first time in his career, he has opened in so many back-to-back T20Is. In the lead-up to the event, he opened for Royal Challengers Bengaluru too (not for the first time though) and got great results, i.e. 741 runs at an average of 61.75 and strike rate of almost 155. That led the management into thinking that Kohli could be a good option as an opener. But there was an oversight on their part.

The IPL is usually played on flat, batsmen-friendly wickets and stadiums. The pitches in the US and the Caribbean have turned out to be totally opposite. The Nassau County pitches in the US were so bad that even scores of 110 and 120 proved to be match-winning often. India played three matches at the venue and Kohli, like most batters in the team, struggled.

Then the tournament entirely moved to the West Indies for the Super 8s and beyond. And while the pitches were a big improvement on those in Nassau, they were not exactly batsmen-friendly.

From day one, Kohli has not looked at home in the opening position. He has tried to stay at the crease, trying to graft. That has not worked. He has also tried to smash the ball from the get-go. That has not worked either.

On Thursday, he hit Reece Topley for a six in the third over. Then he picked up a double before going for another big hit, but totally missed the line of the ball and his stumps were disturbed. It was so unlike Kohli. One expects such shots from a tailender, not from a top-order batsman.

There is no doubt, Kohli is all at sea at the moment. He knows people are questioning — for some time now — his strike rate. So, he can’t consume too many balls to settle down and then unleash big shots as has been his style all these years.

This painful awareness has greatly affected his shot selection. He is not entirely sure which ball to go for and which one to play for singles. In the game before, against Australia, he went after a Josh Hazlewood bouncer, when there is enough evidence that his bouncers are very accurate and more often than not force batsmen into an awkward position. Yes, it’s been that kind of tournament for Kohli.

But all that will be forgotten like a bad nightmare if Kohli could contribute effectively against South Africa. He himself would want that. He has been India’s biggest match-winner to date, surely he wouldn’t want to end his T20I career on a note that allows people to contradict that reputation.

The law of averages suggests he is due one big innings. Believe it or not, the final will be pretty much like a debut for him, rather worse than a debut. He would be terribly under pressure to prove his point, knowing full well there won’t be another chance.