Virat Kohli is one of cricket’s greatest batsmen, but it’s not all roses

Virat Kohli may be one of the most dominant batsmen to ever come out of India, but in times of need he’s a shadow of himself.

Virat Kohli will long be remembered as arguably the best batsman of his generation and one of the best to ever come out of India.

A true wizard with the willow, Kohli has left crowds across the world in awe with his phenomenal batting displays.

At only 30 years old, he has a fair case for being the best one-day batsman of all-time with more than 11,000 ODI runs and 41 centuries to his name.

But after suffering a heartbreaking defeat in the first semi-final at the hands of New Zealand, Kohli’s numbers are being pointed at for an entirely different reason.

Despite looking unstoppable a majority of the time while at the crease, in World Cup knockout games he turns into someone else entirely.

India’s run chase got off to a nightmare start when they found themselves 3-5 after only 19 deliveries with Kohli trapped LBW by Trent Boult for only one run. It was a long way back from there and the top-ranked team in the tournament fell 18 runs short of the Kiwis.

Kohli makes his way back to the sheds.

The latest failure when his team needed him most adds to a growing list of underwhelming performances on the big stages for the No. 3.

In six World Cup finals appearances he has made just 73 runs, with a high-score of 35, at an average of just 12.16. In semi-finals however the numbers are even uglier.

Across three innings the master with the willow has made 11 runs at an average of 3.67. In 2011 against Pakistan he made 9 before a pair of one run performances in 2015 against Australia and then in 2019 against New Zealand.

That’s a lower average than former Australian batting bunny Glenn McGrath who finished his career with a 3.83 ODI batting average.

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly believes Kohli wasn’t himself when he got to the crease and paid the price.

“He was nervous, you could see a tentative Virat Kohli,” Ganguly said. “They lost Rohit Sharma early, and as the captain walked out he knew he was the most important man at that moment and he needed a big innings.

“That’s what World Cup pressure is all about, that’s semi-final pressure.”

Virat Kohli "it's very disappointing not turning up when the team wanted me to" #INDvNZ #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/eD9yhJPAu7

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) July 10, 2019

When you’re as good as Kohli, you’re held to a higher account and compared to other legends of the sport who elevated their level of play when the games take on greater meaning.

Sachin Tendulkar, often referred to as the India cricket GOAT, did just that in knockout games. Lifting his ODI average from 44.83 to 52.84.

Kohli’s shot at putting right the ugly numbers that have left a stain on his record will come when he’s 34 and in front of his vocal home fans at the 2023 World Cup. That’s a pressure-cooker.