IPL 2021: After leading India in the T20 series against World No. 1 England, Virat Kohli’s side beat them in the 5th T20 to seal the series 3-2. The skipper opened the batting for England in which he scored 80* runs off 52 balls.
Kohli, who had opened the batting for the first time in a T20I alongside Murali Vijay during India’s tour of South Africa in 2011, has since opened alongside the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan.
Even the former England batsman Michael Vaughan sensed the danger
Danger for England … @imVkohli has 120 balls potentially to impact the game !!! really good move to get him to open … #INDvENG
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 20, 2021
Virat Kohli record as an opener in T20Is
In 83 T20I innings excluding this match, Kohli has batted the most at No. 3 (57 times). As far as opening the batting in the shortest format at the highest level is concerned, tonight will be the eighth time when Kohli will walk out to bat as an opening batsman.
It is worth mentioning that Kohli’s number as a T20I opener is nowhere near the magic he has created at No. 3. In seven innings as an opener, Kohli has scored 198 runs at an average and strike rate of 28.28 and 146.66 respectively.
IPL 2021: Virat: ‘I am going to open in the IPL as well’
It is quite possible that we see Virat opening with Devdutt Padikkal for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. Padikkal had a memorable debut for the RCB side as the opener amassed 473 runs in 15 matches.
In the post-match interview, Kohli was full of praise for the team. “It was a complete game for us. Totally outplayed the opposition. Even with so much dew coming in, like last game we’ve defended the total again. Today was a complete game. I am going to open in the IPL as well. Have batted in different positions in the past. But I feel we have a solid middle-order now. Will definitely like to partner Rohit at the top.” said Kohli.
With Aaron Finch going unsold in the IPL 2021, it will be quite interesting for the RCB fans to see the Indian skipper open with Padikkal.
Rohit and Virat to open for India in the World Cup?
Virat and Rohit had a solid partnership in the 5th test against England. A 94-runs partnership off 8.6 overs laid the foundation for India with a strong start. The Indian skipper finished the innings unbeaten with an impressive 80 runs from 52 balls.
| Position | Inns | NO | 100s | 50s | 0s | HS | Runs | Avg | S/R | Ca | St |
| Opening | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 161 | 26.83 | 64.66 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | 188 | 30 | 36 | 50 | 13 | 183 | 9924 | 62.81 | 94.33 | 96 | 0 |
| 4 | 39 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 139* | 1767 | 55.22 | 90.66 | 21 | 0 |
| 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 80 | 127 | 31.75 | 83.01 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23* | 23 | 209.09 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 38 | 12.67 | 131.03 | 2 | 0 |
| Overall | 242 | 39 | 43 | 60 | 13 | 183 | 12040 | 59.31 | 93.25 | 129 | 0 |
‘Today Rohit and me were both positive in our intent. We knew we could trust each other and one of us can play second fiddle if one takes off,’ said Kohli after the game.
The fact that this duo has put up 18-century stands in just 80 innings is an extraordinary achievement by itself.
