June 13 (Punjab Khabarnama) : India’s star batter Virat Kohli may not be having the greatest of times with the bat but that hasn’t dampened the spirits of the crowd one bit. They continue to come up with unique and witty chants to get the attention of their beloved Kohli. If ‘Kohli ko bowling do‘ (Give some bowling to Kohli) and ‘5 rupay ki Pepsi, Kohli bhai sexy‘ chants weren’t enough, the crowd present at the Nassau County Cricket Stadium in New York went a step further by unleashing a new and innovative chant mentioning Anushka Sharma.
Kohli was fielding in the deep – possibly at either mid-on or mid-off – during the USA innings when a section of the crowd started chanting: ‘Diwali ho ya Holi, Anushka loves Kohli’. Kohli was walking towards the crowd when the chants broke before switching his focus back on the match, deciding not to entertain the chants. He did, however, wave to the crowd to acknowledge their craze over him.
Kohli has always been a fan favourite. Whether playing for the IPL or the Indian team, he enjoys an equally rousing reception whenever even live visuals of him appear on the screen. So it was given that Kohli would be hurled chants at. The game didn’t go as Kohli has planned as he was dismissed for a golden duck, his first in ICC tournaments, but the fact that India secured the win, defeating USA by seven wickets and qualified for the Super Eights, would ease off some of VK’s disappointment.
With scores of 1, 4 and 0, Kohli finds himself in the middle of a very unusual slump. He hasn’t gotten going on the pitches of New York, which has come under severe scrutiny for its sluggish two-paced nature and slow outfield. But with India scheduled to play their last league game at Lauderhill, Florida, where Kohli has played before, and the decks are more hard-hitting, Virat may fancy his chances ahead of the Super Eights.
When was the last time Kohli struggled to score runs?
The last time Kohli struggled for runs was two years ago at the same time. He endured a torrid time in the first-half of the year, including the series in England. He then took a nearly two-month break, making his return through the Asia Cup. The rest… as they say… is history. Kohli broke his three-year-long deadlock for centuries with his first-ever hundred in T20Is and 71st overall to mark a fresh chapter in his career.
From there, he went on to do incredible things, emerging as the leading run-getter with 296 runs at the T20 World Cup, emulating it during last year’s ODI World Cup, and striking 765 runs at an average of 95.63, including three centuries and six fifties. At Lauderhill, Kohli has batted thrice, scoring 63 runs with a best of 28, and if India want their best batter to come good, Virat will have to better it before the West Indies leg of the T20 World Cup gets cracking. As the tournament marches towards the Super Eights, teams and potential match line-ups are getting clearer by the day. India vs Australia for June 24 is pretty much fixed with more here.
