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‘Whenever there is pressure…’: Not Kohli or Suryakumar, Mohammad Kaif names India's ‘X-Factor’ for semifinal vs England
Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav have enjoyed supreme form at the T20 World Cup 2022. Kohli, in fact, sits at top of the batting charts while Suryakumar is two spot behind at third with 225 runs from five matches but at a staggering strike-rate of 193.97.
Team India will look to carry forward the momentum as they stand two wins away from the T20 World Cup. The team will lock horns with England in the semifinal in Adelaide on Thursday and predictions for the same has already begun. Going into the semifinal all eyes will be on India's in-form batters Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli.
The duo have enjoyed supreme form at the tournament and are the highest run-getters from the Indian camp. Kohli, in fact, sits at top of the batting charts of the ongoing World Cup, having accumulated 246 runs from five matches. Suryakumar is two spot behind at third with 225 runs from the same number of matches but at a staggering strike-rate of 193.97.
Another good news for the team is KL Rahul finding his mojo right at the business end. The star opener kicked-off the campaign in Australia with good scores, but in the unofficial matches and hit a slump right as the tournament began. However, Rahul has knocked consecutive half-centuries in the previous two matches and the management will hope for a similar show on Thursday.
While the three have kept batting problems at bay, one thing that has generated quite a buzz is Rohit Sharma's struggles with the bat. The India captain is yet to fire big, barring his half-century against Netherlands, and has just managed 89 runs from five matches.
However, former India cricketer Mohammed Kaif feels Rohit will get some runs under his belt in the important semifinal. "His (Rohit) bat has not been talking much but I think that he is a big-match player. He likes playing against England and I will not be surprised at all if he scores big in that semi-final. He has that X-Factor, whenever there is pressure, he plays a match-winning knock," the ex-cricketer noted in an exclusive interaction with Sportskeeda.
Kaif also spoke about the impact Rohit has made as a captain, but termed the upcoming challenge against England as his “biggest” so far. "I consider Rohit Sharma a very good player, but the time has come where the next two matches are the most important ones. The next match is the biggest one for Rohit Sharma as captain, he has had a great record since taking over as T20 captain. The value he has brought in with his captaincy is immense," said Kaif.
Rohit has enjoyed a good record since taking over from Kohli, becoming the most successful skipper in a calendar year in the shorter format. He recently led India to 22 wins in 2022, thus surpassing Pakistan skipper Babar Azam's record of 21 wins in the previous year.
