Is it time to look at Virat Kohli's numbers in ICC knockout games? 

Virat Kohli is arguably the best batsman of this generation, especially in limited-overs cricket. But to be considered one of the greats of all time, one has to perform well in the big tournaments under pressure situations.

All the great cricketers of past generations have done well in ICC tournaments, thereby etching their names in cricketing history. Sachin Tendulkar made the 2003 ODI World Cup his own by scoring 673 runs. He was also India's top scorer in the 2011 ODI World Cup. Ricky Ponting has won three ODI World Cups and scored one of the greatest hundreds in one-day cricket in the 2003 World Cup final. Similarly, the likes of Sir Viv Richards, Imran Khan, Glenn Mcgrath are all remembered for their World Cup performances.

Virat Kohli too will be judged by his performances in ICC tournaments at the end of his career. So it's time to look at how he has performed in ICC knockout games so far.

Virat Kohli holds the Record of Being No1 in T20Is for Most No of days - 1014 DaysGOAT 🐐 pic.twitter.com/hpc8b9beae

— TN VIRAT Army™ (@TNVIRATArmy) July 14, 2021

In his international career that has lasted almost 13 years, Kohli has played as many as 15 innings in ICC knockout matches across three different formats. For better analysis, let's divide his innings before and after the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Virat Kohli's numbers in ICC knockout games until the 2013 Champions Trophy

2011 ODI World Cup quarter-final 24(33) vs Australia

2011 ODI World Cup semi-final 9(21) vs Pakistan

2011 ODI World Cup final 35(49) vs Sri Lanka

2013 Champions Trophy semi-final 58*(64) vs Sri Lanka

2013 Champions Trophy final 43(34) vs England

Virat Kohli played five knockout innings, including his knock in the final of the 2013 Champions Trophy. India went on a winning streak in ICC knockout games under MS Dhoni, winning the 2011 World cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy.

As one can see, he has a pretty decent record in ICC knockout games until the 2013 Champions Trophy. Make no mistake, his innings of 24 and 35 in the 2011 ODI world Cup were very important as India were in a bit of trouble in both situations. He forged a good partnership of 49 runs with Gautam Gambhir and was instrumental in India defeating Australia in the quarter-finals of the 2011 World Cup.

Virat Kohli has never been dismissed in a #INDvsPAK #WT20 match2012 - 78* (MOTM) 2014 - 36*2016 - 55* (MOTM)King kohli supermacy 🔥 pic.twitter.com/IfDX4kZ7Dh

— Priyanshu Khandelwal🇮🇳 (VK) (@Priyanshuinn) July 16, 2021

Kohli’s 35 in the 2011 World Cup final and his 83-run partnership with Gambhir helped India steady the ship after they lost Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar early. It laid the foundation for MS Dhoni to launch a brutal assault late on. He also played a good hand of 58 in the semi-finals of the 2013 Champions Trophy. Kohli then scored 43 and was India's top scorer in the final, which was reduced to 20 overs.

Kohli breached the 20-run mark in four out of the five games during the period, with India winning all of them. It is clear that India depend on Kohli to deliver in the big games.

Virat Kohli's numbers in ICC knockout games after the 2013 Champions Trophy

2014 T20 World Cup semi-final 72*(44) vs South Africa

2014 T20 World Cup final 77(58) vs Sri Lanka

2015 ODI World Cup quarter-final 3(8) vs Bangladesh

2015 ODI World Cup semi-final 1(13) vs Australia

2016 T20 World Cup semi-final 89*(47) vs West Indies

2017 Champions Trophy semi-final 96*(78) vs Bangladesh

2017 Champions Trophy final 5(9) vs Pakistan

2019 ODI World Cup semi-final 1(6) New Zealand

2021 WTC final 44 and 13 vs New Zealand

Virat Kohli played 10 innings in ICC knockout games after the 2013 Champions Trophy. He scored some match-winning innings for India during the period, especially in the T20 World Cups. But India weren't able to win them because of a lack of contributions from other players.

Kohli scored a superb half-century in a big chase to send India to the final of the 2014 T20 World Cup. But Yuvraj Singh's uncharacteristically slow innings of 11 runs off 21 balls in the final hurt India as they weren't able to post a good total and ended up losing the game against Sri Lanka.

India posted a huge total in the 2016 T20 World Cup semi-finals as Kohli scored a well-made 89 runs. But India lost that game as well after their bowlers put in a lackluster display. He didn't do well in the quarter-finals and the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup, scoring just three and eight respectively.

His failures continued as he got out for five against arch-rivals Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy final before falling for just one in the all-important 2019 ODI World Cup semi-finals against New Zealand. Kohli's most recent failure in ICC knockout games once again came against the Kiwis in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. He scored 44 and 13 in two innings as India lost the summit clash by eight wickets. In all of these matches, he came in to bat when India were in trouble and needed him the most, but he couldn't deliver.

Most 150+ scores in ODIs by non-openersVirat kohli - 4Viv Richards - 3AB Devilliers - 2 pic.twitter.com/mpCo5XqQHj

— Freak (@odd_err) July 13, 2021

He got out for less than 20 runs in five innings during the period, with India losing four of those games. All four losses occurred because of a top-order collapse in the first 10 overs of the game. The only match India won was against a weak Bangladesh side, and Kohli's runs wouldn't have had a big impact anyway on the outcome of the game.

In total, Kohli has played 15 innings in ICC knockout games during his career. He scored over 20 runs in nine of those innings, with India winning six matches.

Clearly, India's fortunes have been linked to the performances of Virat Kohli. If Kohli fails, India invariably lose. There are no two ways about it. Kohli has failed in his last four innings in ICC knockout games. He will have another opportunity to correct it in this year's T20 World Cup and win his first trophy as captain of India.