Instances when Virat Kohli failed to deliver under pressure
Virat Kohli faced a lot of criticism after losing his wicket cheaply in the 2023 Asia Cup match against Pakistan at the Pallekele International Stadium.
4. India versus Australia- 2023 World Test Championship final
After the 2021 WTC final hammering, India played a fierce brand of Test cricket from 2021 to 2023 and reached the final of WTC again in 2023. This time, they faced the Pat Cummins-led Australia at the Oval. Ahead of the match, Australia were the favourites to have their hands on the distinguished mace due to English conditions which were more familiar to them.
However, India were required the top-notch services of captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the game to compete with the high-spirited Aussie side. At the toss, India skipper Rohit emerged victorious and chose to field first. Riding on Travis Head’s 163 and Steven Smith’s 121, Australia notched up 469 runs.
Following the total, Indian openers Rohit and Shubman Gill fell early. After the early dismissals, Kohli had to spend time in the middle and score big runs. However, Mitchell Starc stepped up in the huge encounter and bowled a bouncer to the India star batter and got rid of him on 14.
After the no-show in the first innings, the 34-year-old came to bat in the second innings. While following the massive total of 444, India were three down and eyes were set on Kohli again. This time, the veteran batter exuded confidence by playing some confident strokes. However, his innings came to an end on 49 after Scott Boland bowled him towards the off-stump and he attempted the delivery to play a cover drive but the ball went into the safe hands of Steven Smith, who was deployed at the second slip.
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