OPINION
Follow UsIn the fifth T20 International (T20I), India saw yet another opening pair, the fourth of the five-match series against England. The first three pairs did not click. And that is probably one of the reasons why Indian skipper Virat Kohli opted to promote himself to the top of the order. It proved to be a successful move as Rohit Sharma and Kohli posted 94 runs for the first wicket.
Prior to the aforementioned game, Virat had opened the innings in only seven of the 83 T20I innings he had batted in. Even though he has regularly opened the innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Kohli had opted to bat at number three or four in internationals.
In the post-match presentation, when asked about him batting as an opener, the answer was spontaneous: “Yes. I am going to open in the IPL as well.”
VIRAT – IMPECCABLE AS AN OPENER
Kohli has the numbers to back him as an opener in T20 cricket. In the IPL, he has opened the innings on more than 60 occasions and has an average of 46.8 and has scored at a strike rate of 141. Among openers who have scored 2000+ runs in T20s, Kohli is one among three batsmen to have an average of 40+ and a strike rate of 140+.
In T20 cricket, among openers who have scored 2000+ runs, Virat’s average of 46.8 is the second best after Babar Azam (48.8). The best part of his batting is how he builds his innings as an opener. Generally, for a player, there is a certain phase of the innings where they slow down. But Kohli’s strike rate keeps on increasing as he builds his innings. In the first six overs, Virat starts off at a strike rate of 126.8, and then in the next nine overs phase, he accelerates towards 140. And if he stays in the last five overs, he scores at a whopping strike rate of 212.
When it comes to his team’s success while opening the batting, Kohli has been exceptional for RCB in the IPL on that front. In total, he has 20 scores of 50+ as an opener and 13 of those have handed the Bengaluru-based franchise victories. He has an average of 74.9 as an opener in wins in the IPL at a strike rate of 152.4. His average is the best for an opener in the league among batters with 1000+ runs in wins. This is certainly enough to say that he proven match-winner as an opener.
There is another reason as to why Kohli is better suited as an opener. With the new ball coming on to the bat, he scores more freely in the first 15 balls as an opener as compared to number three. Yes, there have been instances of him coming into bat very early on, but still his starts have been different – as an opener, Kohli has struck at 125.5 in the first 15 deliveries he has faced as compared to 111.6 when batting at number three. Even when it comes to batting against spin, once when Kohli has got his eye in, he is much more comfortable scoring against them. At number three, he strikes at 121.9 against spin as compared to 141.7 as an opener.
These numbers suggest that Kohli can be a successful opener, but there are a number of openers hovering around for India. KL Rahul, who was backed by the skipper himself, cannot be outcasted just because of one bad series. The experienced Shikhar Dhawan and the talented Ishan Kishan are also in the frame and this makes it difficult and challenging for Kohli and the team management. So, Kohli as an Indian opener still remains a question mark.
THE ADVANTAGE OF KOHLI BATTING AS AN OPENER
Just as he said in the post-match presentation, Kohli opening gives two of India’s best batsmen the best opportunity to face maximum deliveries. And it is not the only aspect that could help India. In the bowling department, such a move can see India have the liberty to enter a game with an extra bowler. In the fifth T20I, it was evident as the Men in Blue played with four front-line bowlers in Shardul Thakur, Rahul Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan.
Hardik Pandya and Washington Sundar played the role of allrounders, which meant that India had the luxury of having six bowling options. This is ideal just in case one of the front-line bowlers has a bad day at the office. With Kohli opening the innings, India have the option of going with a combination of five batsmen, two all-rounders and four bowlers which is a good strategy for T20 cricket.
After Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah return to the team, they are likely to make it to the playing XI. With the inclusion of Jadeja, India also have the option of going with three allrounders and three bowlers. Going by such a combination, this could be one of India’s probable XIs (with Kohli as an opener):
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar/Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur/T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah
