Virat is better than Rahul in the opening: KL is scoring runs in 2022 at a strike rate of 122, while opening Kohli's average is more than 50

Posted on 15th Sep 2022 by rohit kumar

Ever since Virat Kohli scored 122 runs in the opening match against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, the discussion has started as to who will be Rohit Sharma's partner in the upcoming T20 World Cup - KL Rahul or Virat Kohli. While Rahul's bat has not been able to do anything special this year, Virat has returned to form from the Asia Cup.

 

How have both been performing in 2022?

 

This year KL Rahul has played 5 T20 matches for India. He has scored 132 runs in these 5 matches at an average of 26.40. At the same time, the strike rate of this player has been only 122.22. If we talk about Virat Kohli, then this year he is better than KL Rahul in every sense. He has scored 357 runs in 9 matches at an impressive average of 51.00. During this, his strike rate has been 142.80.

 

Virat becomes dangerous while opening

 

When the former captain of Team India bats in the T20 International, his bat speaks fiercely. He has opened for India in 9 matches so far. During this, Virat has scored 400 runs at an impressive average of 57.14. His strike rate during this period has been 161.29.

 

When King Kohli comes to bat at number-3 or number-4, he plays some ball dot, but when this player comes on the field as an opener, he starts hitting big shots from the very first ball. This has been seen not only in T20 Internationals but also in IPL. Virat has scored 5 centuries while batting in the IPL. At the same time, his only century in T20 International has also come while opening.

 

No runs from KL Rahul's bat when needed

 

KL Rahul continues to flop while batting the opening. Take it in the Asia Cup itself, he returned to the pavilion without opening the account against Pakistan. At the same time, in the second match against a weak team like Hong Kong, he scored 36 runs, but on 39 balls. When the Indian team came out to play a do-or-die match against Sri Lanka, only 6 runs came out of Rahul's bat. Although he scored 62 runs against Afghanistan, by then the journey of Team India from the Asia Cup was over.

 

His similar performance was also in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Against Pakistan, his bat scored 3 runs and against New Zealand, 18 runs came off 16 balls. He then scored 54 off 36 balls against Namibia and 50 off 19 balls against Scotland. Both these innings did not make any sense, because by then Team India was out of the World Cup.

 

In such a situation, KL Rahul's claim as an opener in the T20 World Cup is continuously weakening. At the same time, Virat is seen challenging him.

 

Also Read: Virat's quantum jump in ICC rankings: From 29th rank to 15th straight, benefited from excellent performance in Asia Cup

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