(AP Photo)
As India prepares to face Australia in a pivotal match, criticism has mounted over Virat Kohli’s form in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. The Indian star has struggled to find his peak performance in the tournament. However, his Australian counterpart, David Warner, defended Kohli, stating that the criticism of his strike rate has been unwarranted.
In the T20 World Cup 2024, Kohli managed just five runs in the group stages before scoring 24 and 37 runs respectively in the Super Eight matches against Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
“It’s just his passion for the game, like, he’s got a knack or determination just for scoring runs and hunger to score runs. You know, he cops a lot of criticism, which is not right. I don’t know why he cops it, but there are a lot of people out there who are big Virat supporters, like all of us,” Warner said on Star Sports.
Warner also lauded Kohli’s enduring consistency over the years, highlighting it as a quality that Australians appreciate when competing against him and his team.
“Now, we’re in awe of the great players that have played this game, and we’re fortunate to take the field with. So, you know, for him, he consistently goes about his business how he does. You know, he scores a lot of runs. He’s a good team man and he competes hard. And that’s what we like about coming up against the Indian cricket team.”
India, despite being unbeaten so far in the tournament, faces the peril of an unexpected elimination in the Super Eight stage. Their crucial task is to defeat Australia in the final Super Eight match, which could complicate matters and open up opportunities for Afghanistan or Bangladesh to secure a semi-final berth. The match between India and Australia will take place at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in Saint Lucia.
