IND PAK T20 World Cup: Kohli’s batting record in Australia

In 11 T20Is Down Under, Kohli has 451 runs at a strike rate of 144.55 and average of a shade under 65.

In 11 T20Is Down Under, Kohli has 451 runs at a strike rate of 144.55 and average of a shade under 65.  | Photo Credit: AFP

Virat Kohli comes into this T20 World Cup on the back of good form with the bat. At the recently concluded 2022 Asia Cup in the UAE, Kohli scored 276 runs at a strike rate of 147.59. Kohli hit two half-centuries and his first T20I century.

He ended the tournament as the second-highest run-getter, behind Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan. Kohli will be one of India’s key batters in the 2022 T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.

Kohli's T20I record in Australia should also give him and the team confidence. In 11 T20Is Down Under, Kohli has 451 runs at a strike rate of 144.55 and average of a shade under 65.

He has five fifties and has hit 32 fours and 12 sixes.

In September 2021, days before the T20 World Cup, Kohli announced he was stepping down as India’s T20I captain after the marquee tournament. India eventually failed to make the knockouts, following losses to Pakistan and New Zealand in the group stage. 

Rohit eventually took over white-ball captaincy from Kohli.

Predicted Playing XIs

India

Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami

Pakistan

Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shaheen Afridi