Kohli’s Struggles Recall Dhoni’s 2011 WC Journey

It was predicted that Virat Kohli will emerge as the 2024 T20 World Cup’s top run scorer and dominate the competition. Given his achievements in the IPL 2024, when he scored 741 runs in 15 innings to recover the Orange Cap, it was only a prudent wager. Similar to the IPL season, India even promoted the former captain to the opening position in an attempt to get the best out of Kohli. But in just seven innings, the 35-year-old could only muster 75 runs, with two dismissals for duck and zero fifty-plus scores. However, pundits and seasoned cricketers are expecting a massive blow from Kohli when they play South Africa in the Barbados T20 World Cup final on Saturday.

Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif, using his official X Twitter, reminded Kohli about MS Dhoni and his memorable catch in the 2011 ODI World Cup final, which helped the Men in Blue win their second and first ODI World Cup titles since 1983.

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Kaif brought up the fact that, like Kohli, Dhoni had also battled to find his form throughout the World Cup until India’s victory in the final, when he slammed an unbeaten 91, including the iconic six over long-on against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium. In light of this, the seasoned cricketer supported Kohli’s attempt to emulate Dhoni’s performance during Saturday’s T20 World Cup final match against South Africa.

“Virat Kohli must keep in mind that, although Dhoni didn’t have a fantastic World Cup in 2011, he turned things around in the championship game. A little suggestion: Kaif stated, “He can dominate any bowling attack and is too good a player to slog.”

Virat Kohli needs to remember that even Dhoni didn't have a great World Cup in 2011 but he found form in the final. Small suggestion: He is too good a player to slog, he can play ball on merit and dominate any bowling attack. pic.twitter.com/OumwDIO7nP

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) June 28, 2024

2011 will be rewritten again

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s performance in the 2011 ODI World Cup was lacking. He performed a flawless 91-run knock in the championship. His six-over, on-off Kulasekara is ingrained in the collective consciousness. I believe Virat Kohli has a fantastic opportunity to become a hero for this reason. He needs to ignore his bad form. When India last faced South Africa at Eden Gardens for the ODI World Cup, he had struck a century. He wasn’t slaving away that day; rather, he was playing the ball properly and making the right strokes when it came to cricket. He was outstanding that day.

With 1216 runs, Kohli leads all players in T20 World Cup history; India skipper Rohit Sharma is only five runs behind. In contrast, this has been the India opener’s poorest World Cup performance in the six event history.
India will be looking to win their first global crown in 13 years, their first ICC trophy in 11 years, and their second T20 global Cup trophy on Saturday. Conversely, South Africa will be aiming to win the men’s World Cup for the first time ever.