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Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar is "not concerned" about misfiring Virat Kohli's form as he believes the overall momentum and form of the team is far more important ahead of the T20 World Cup final against South Africa.
India's stalwart batter has struggled to boss around the bowlers just like he did while opening for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Since touching down in the USA and the West Indies for the marquee event, Kohli has been enduring a nightmare, chasing shadows of his former self and searching for runs from his bat throughout the marquee event. While the Indian captain Rohit Sharma and many former cricketers believe that Kohli has been saving to produce a spectacle in the final, Manjrekar looking at the broader picture, is more focused on the team's performance rather than a single individual. "Not really concerned about Virat Kohli's form because the team's form is far more important," Manjrekar, who features as an expert on 'Caught and Bold' show on Disney+ Hotstar told ANI. In seven matches, Kohli, with all his experience, has struggled to find that elusive purple patch and put together a string of performances while opening alongside Rohit. In IPL he racked up a mouth-watering tally of 741 runs, but in the World Cup, he mustered up just 75 runs at an average of 10.71 throughout the tournament. Despite Kohli's no-show, India rose as a collective unit, with a different player emerging as a matchwinner for the Men in Blue. With Rohit leading the team with a fearless approach from the front, Manjrekar firmly believes that India can end their hiatus of ICC World Cup trophies because of the new template that they introduced, which has worked like a charm for them. "Of course India can lift the World Cup 2024, India has discovered a new template, the modern template of playing T20 cricket, and it's paying rich dividends so far," Manjrekar stated. It will be a battle of unbeaten sides after South Africa and India stormed into the final without conceding a single defeat. Manjrekar assessed the threat the Proteas players carry and feels that their star pace duo and hard-hitting opening batter could pose a threat to the Indian team on their quest to lift the T20 World Cup trophy. "I would say one of the fast bowlers, either Anrich Nortje or Rabada or Quinton De Kock. In batting Quinton De Kock for sure," Manjrekar added. India will play the final on Saturday against South Africa at the Kensington Oval. If rain doesn't allow the game to take place, then a reserve day is in store as well. (ANI)
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