Legendary Indian opener Virender Sehwag has compared the contrasting knocks of Ben Stokes and Virat Kohli after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia on Sunday. Kohli's fighting knock against England went in vain as openers Jos Buttler and Alex Hales powered the Three Lions to a 10-wicket win over India in the second semi-final on Thursday. After defeating India in the penultimate clash, Stokes-inspired England outclassed Pakistan in the low-scoring encounter to clinch the T20 World Cup title on Sunday.
Staging England's fightback with the willow at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), all-rounder Stokes played a gritty knock of 52 off 49 balls to help Buttler-led England upstage Babar's Pakistan by 5 wickets in the T20 World Cup final. Stokes' unbeaten knock paved the way for the Three Lions to chase down the paltry total of 138 in 19 overs at the MCG.
Stokes also registered his highest T20I score for England in the recently concluded final of the ICC event. Reflecting on England's historic win over Pakistan, former India opener Sehwag opined that Stokes would've been questioned by his critics if the same knock had arrived after Buttler and Co. opted to bat instead of bowling first in the final at the MCG.
“Ye ankadey unke 49 balls mein 52 agar wo pehle khel rhe hotey to sab criticize kartey. Kyuki situation kay hisaab se khele hai - 52 not out, match jeetaya hai to isliye ye ankadey behtar lag rahe hai. Agar Virat Kohli ki baat karey to 40 balls mein 50 run halkey isliye lag rhe they kyuki India wo match haar gya. Aur phle batting karkey jeet bhi jata hai koi to wo (knock) crucial bhi to ho jaati na 40-ball mein 50 run. (Stokes would have been criticised if he had scored 52 off 49 balls in 1st innings or while not chasing. Because he played as per the situation, his knock is looking good on paper. If we talk about Virat Kohli, his last knock against England doesn't have much weight because India lost the match. And the same knock would've been deemed a crucial one (40-ball 50) if India had won the match,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz during a discussion.
{{/usCountry}}“Ye ankadey unke 49 balls mein 52 agar wo pehle khel rhe hotey to sab criticize kartey. Kyuki situation kay hisaab se khele hai - 52 not out, match jeetaya hai to isliye ye ankadey behtar lag rahe hai. Agar Virat Kohli ki baat karey to 40 balls mein 50 run halkey isliye lag rhe they kyuki India wo match haar gya. Aur phle batting karkey jeet bhi jata hai koi to wo (knock) crucial bhi to ho jaati na 40-ball mein 50 run. (Stokes would have been criticised if he had scored 52 off 49 balls in 1st innings or while not chasing. Because he played as per the situation, his knock is looking good on paper. If we talk about Virat Kohli, his last knock against England doesn't have much weight because India lost the match. And the same knock would've been deemed a crucial one (40-ball 50) if India had won the match,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz during a discussion.
{{/usCountry}}“Bhayi wo nahi banatey to India 168 tak nahi phochta. Yaha par unhoney 52 banaye hai, ye ant tak rahe hai, match ko jeetakey leke gaye hai, balls to aur bhi bachi hui thi na? To poora 1 over bacha hua tha abhi, to wo balls ka kya kartey. At least match khatam karkey gye hai to isliye ye ankadey behtar lag rhe hai. Because of that knock, India would not have reached the 168-run total. Here, Stokes scored 52 and he remained unbeaten. He guided England to glory and they completed the run chase with 6 balls to spare. Since he ended the match in England's favour, his knock is looking good on the scorecard,” Sehwag added.
Stokes top-scored for Buttler and Co. while pacer Sam Curran emerged as the pick of the bowlers for England in the World Cup final. Pacer Curran bagged three wickets and leaked 12 runs in 4 overs. The Englishman was also named the Player of the Match for his bowling heroics. Curran, who finished the T20 World Cup 2022 with 13 wickets, was also named the Player of the Tournament.