WTC Final: Change or get changed, Virat Kohli's terse warning to batsmen after WTC debacle
It may not be person specific but at the back of his mind he might have the pictures of Rishabh Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara. Pant, who was given a reprieve on 5, made a 41 of 88 balls and looked in a mindset to push things forward. In low-scoring game like the WTC Final, a quick 50 or 60 could often make a difference in the outcome and Pant was poised for that but a top edge off Trent Boult ended his stay.
But on the other hand, Pujara was in his stubborn self, trying to grind down New Zealand attack before imposing himself. It resulted in an 80-ball 15 at a strike-rate of 18.75 in the second innings and a 54-ball 8 in the first dig at a strike rate just over 14. Pujara’s last hundred was against Australia at Sydney in January 2019, even though he made a decisive difference again at Sydney earlier this year with twin fifties against the Aussies.
However, the situation was different in Southampton as India needed runs from top-order batsmen rather than longer stay at the crease. Kohli suggested that when he said India fell short 30-40 runs of a target that could have defended.
The average run-scoring rate during the WTC Final was just above 2, indicating that both India and New Zealand batsmen preferred caution over aggression. But when it mattered most, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor stitched together a 96-run alliance in little over 28 overs and scored at more than 3 runs per over to take the Kiwis home and to the ICC Mace.
Patience was the hallmark of their partnership too but Williamson and Taylor were not shy in taking some risks to push the board forward.
This might have prompted him to say that the Indian batsmen need to take more risks. “The mindset has to score runs. You can’t be too worried about getting out because you are bringing the bowler into the game and not moving the game forward. As a batting unit if we consistently put up 300 on the board then it is a different kind of pressure on the opposition with the kind of bowlers that we have.
