‘If Kohli gets out and Pandya stays, India have a higher chance of winning’: Ashish Nehra says India captain will be disappointed with his chase

India vs Australia: “If Hardik Pandya gets out and Virat Kohli stays, India have a higher chance of losing the game,” said former India fast bowler Ashish Nehra.

Former India fast bowler Ashish Nehra feels captain Virat Kohli will be disappointed at not closing out the third T20I against Australia on Wednesday. Needing 187 to win, Kohli led India’s chase with a counter-attacking 85 but was unable to keep up with the required rate. In the end, with India needing 36 off the last two overs, Kohli fell to the pressure of a steep asking rate and Australia took the match by 12 runs.

Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya batting for India. (Getty Images)

Kohli has in the past pulled off incredible chases for India, which in fact has given him the tag ‘Master of chase’ for India. However, looking back at the match, Nehra explained that although Kohli was quick to get off the blocks, he struggled to maintain the same scoring rate in the middle overs, which eventually cost India the match.

“The way Kohli started - 23 off 20, but when you’re set, in the middle overs as well he scored some 20 off 20 or 23 off 20. When he reached his 50, he had played 41 balls. After that, he scored 35 runs off the next 19 but from overs 7 to 15, when Dhawan and Samson got out, it all came down to Kohli,” Nehra said on Cricbuzz.

Nehra feels India would be better off using Kohli as an anchor than as a finisher, while adding that the India captain needs someone for support when the team is chasing such stiff targets. The responsibility of finishing a match should be left on Hardik Pandya, reckons Nehra.

“In the end, India needed 43 to win off three overs, something that many teams back themselves to pull off. I believe Kohli’s role in this Indian team is that of playing an anchor. That’s why his average is so high. We have discussed this earlier as well that even when he’s playing for RCB, it gets difficult to finish the game all by himself. There, he needs AB de Villiers for support. Here too, he needed Hardik Pandya’s support,” Nehra explained.

“In the previous game, as long as Pandya stood there. If Pandya gets out and Kohli stays, India have a higher chance of losing the game. And if Kohli gets out and Pandya stays, you’ll have a higher chance of winning. Pandya was able to do that and even Kohli knows it - what his game is and what Pandya’s is. He needs players around him.”