Virat Kohli's captainship was mindless against Pakistan.
@sathviksouvik (23240)
June 18, 2017 8:40pm CST
Virat Kohli should not have won the toss and fielded first. It was finals of Champions Trophy. India allowed Pakistan to score a mighty 338 runs. Playing Aswin and Jadeja was idiotic. In batting when Rohit Sharma got out for a duck in a swinging delivery of Mohammad Amir, Kohli should have changed the batting order. He could have had Kedar Jadav or Pandya at No 3 and reserved himself, Yuvraj and Dhoni at the back. Instead of that he came at the hot spell of Amir, got out himself and put the team in pressure. India lost by 180 runs which was a shame. Captain has to be intelligent. Kohli had only one plan and everyday executed it mindlessly.
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2 responses
@avi256 (8515)
• Pune, India
19 Jun 17
I felt as if repeat telecast of WC 2003 final was going on.
Same mistake was done by Ganguly and they had to chase 360 against mighty Australia, and they collapsed.
It is good that Virat Kohli likes to back his players, but in cricket you need to have a realistic faith ,he needs to accept the fact that Yuvi cannot win matches on his own anymore now and Ashwin is no longer a good bowling option in ODI outside subcontinent.
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@ptrikha_2 (49753)
• India
20 Jun 17
@avi256 May be he will get better as a ODI and T20 captain with time.
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@avi256 (8515)
• Pune, India
20 Jun 17
@sathviksouvik May be he backs his own batting capabilities a lot and since he had been a great chasemaster all these years, he tought he is THE man for the job.
But yes, a slight shuffle in batting order might have left Pakistanis confused and some mind games could have played on.
It is evident looking at his captaincy in IPL and now in ODI, he lacks instinctive skills like Ganguly or Dhoni.
He is a good captain in Tests only.
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@sathviksouvik (23240)
•
20 Jun 17
Thanks Avinashji for the responses. See a player's captainship skills are tested when the team is in crisis. Kohli played miserably in this matter. When Pakistan scored mighty 338 runs, he could have shuffled the batting order, he could have allowed Kedar Jadav, or Hardik Pandya to come at No 3, then he himself could have come at No 4. Even if they got out cheaply the team would not have had such a pressure.
In World Cup finals 1992, Imran Khan himself came at No 3 and Javed Miandad at No 4 to play out the swing of Pringle. Virat Kohli has only followed a set up like robot. He is not a thinking captain like Border, Steve Waugh, Viv Richards, Ranatunga.
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@ptrikha_2 (49753)
• India
19 Jun 17
I think it was Indian team's day off, and it was afterall 11 players vs 11 players. Yes India played badly but one should not see the results from the prism of India vs Pakistan match.
And yes, perhaps Umesh Yadav would have made a difference.
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@avi256 (8515)
• Pune, India
20 Jun 17
It really hurts when the captain comes up with statement of "day off" that too the most crucial match once in 2-3 years.
Nobody would mind such day off when you are playing in bilateral series or any normal match, this is what great teams prepare for...the big finals...this is why Australia wins so many finals of ICC events.
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@ptrikha_2 (49753)
• India
20 Jun 17
@avi256 I know the big loss has hurt but afterall, it was 11 players vs 11 players. We have in the past seen that sometimes even best teams falter badly somedays.
I remember a match in 1991-92 Benson and Hedges series, where Australian team lost a match badly against India, in a series where they were beating India by big margins in other games and also hardly lost a match against the third team West Indies.
So its a part and parcel of cricket.
Lessons learnt but I hope Kohli and Team management is smart enough to take corrective measures.
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