Virat Kohli’s numbers in the ongoing 2024 T20 World Cup tell a disappointing tale: 3 innings, 9 balls faced, 5 runs scored, a 1.7 average, and a strike rate of 55.6. This starkly contrasts with his stellar 2024 IPL season, where he clinched the Orange Cap as the highest run-scorer. However, his World Cup campaign has started on a decidedly anti-climactic note.

After scoring just 1 run against Ireland and 4 against Pakistan, Kohli was dismissed for a golden duck against the United States on Wednesday, June 12. Playing at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, he edged a delivery from Saurabh Netravalkar to Andries Gous behind the stumps on the second ball of India’s 111-run chase.

This was Kohli’s second golden duck of the year, following a first-ball dismissal against Afghanistan in January 2024. Each of his three dismissals in this World Cup has echoed a familiar pattern from his career, with deliveries pitched outside off stump luring him into playing away from his body. This recurring vulnerability has resurfaced at a crucial juncture, overshadowing the promise he showed during the IPL and leaving fans and analysts questioning how he will overcome this challenge in the upcoming matches.

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In-depth Analysis of Kohli’s Dismissal Pattern in T20 World Cup 2024

Chasing 97 against Ireland, Kohli slashed at a wide delivery outside off stump, sending it straight to the third-man fielder. In the match against Pakistan, right after a beautiful cover drive to get off the mark, he miscued a square cut to backward point. Slashing at balls outside his reach with horizontal-batted shots has never been Kohli’s strength, particularly when it comes to the square cut. In his latest outing, although he was in a defensive mode, the Delhi-born batter again found himself playing at a ball he could have left alone.

The dismissal highlighted Kohli’s ongoing struggles against left-arm pacers in seaming conditions. Expecting the ball to move in, he was caught off guard when it maintained its line, taking the edge. Kohli’s tendency to commit too early on the front foot has often been his downfall in such scenarios. This vulnerability was exacerbated by the challenging bowling-friendly conditions in New York, where India has played all three of their matches so far.

Scoring runs has been incredibly difficult for the openers at this venue, who have managed an average of only 13.4. These tough conditions have turned New York into Kohli’s kryptonite, stifling his usually prolific run-scoring ability. Despite his form in the IPL, the seaming pitches and persistent left-arm pace have exposed his weaknesses, making it almost impossible for him to find his rhythm and contribute significantly to the team’s totals.

However, some openers have managed to score runs by assessing these tricky conditions. Rohit Sharma, for instance, scored a match-winning 52 against Ireland. For Kohli, though, the issue has been his reliance on the approach that brought him success in the IPL. During the IPL, he aggressively took on the pacers in the powerplay to build a quick foundation, a strategy that has not translated well in the World Cup.

This contrast underscores the difference between the intent-driven, high-scoring nature of the 2024 IPL season and the low-scoring, challenging conditions of the T20 World Cup. While the IPL allowed Kohli to flourish with aggressive tactics, the World Cup has demanded a more cautious and adaptive approach, one that Kohli has struggled to implement so far. This disparity highlights how different formats and conditions can drastically affect a player’s performance.