“My Player of the Match would've been a bowler” - When a former India batter questioned Virat Kohli’s knock in the 2024 T20 World Cup final

Virat Kohli top-scored for India in the 2024 T20 World Cup final against South Africa at Bridgetown in Barbados with a sublime 76 off 59 balls. Exactly a year ago, on June 29, 2024, the Men in Blue beat the Proteas by seven runs in a nail-biting final to end their 11-year ICC title drought.

Kohli, who had struggled for runs heading into the summit clash against South Africa, stood tall on the big day and notched up a crucial half-century. The right-handed batter struck six fours and two sixes in his innings as India put up 176-7 on the board batting first. In response, South Africa were held to 169-8 despite Heinrich Klaasen's 52 off 27 as India's bowlers excelled under pressure.

While Kohli was named Player of the Match for his 59-ball 76 in the final, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar disagreed with the decision. According the him, the Player of the Final award should have gone to one of the bowlers. Explaining his point of view during an interaction on ESPNcricinfo, he opined that Kohli did not bat at a fast place and that the bowlers bailed the team out in the end. He said:

"India were in a losing position, 90 percent winning chances (for South Africa). The complete turnaround actually saved Virat Kohli's innings because he played virtually half the innings with a strike-rate of 128. My Player of the Match would've been a bowler because they actually took the game from the jaws of defeat and won it for India."

"By playing that innings, Hardik Pandya, one of their most devastating batters, had just two balls to face. So I thought India's batting was good, but Virat Kohli had potentially played an innings that would've put India in a tight corner. And it almost proved to be that, before these guys' bowlers came in the end," the former India batter went on to add.

Batting first after winning the toss, the Men in Blue got off to a poor start in the powerplay as skipper Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav all fell for single-figure scores. Kohli and Axar Patel (47 off 31) then added 72 for the fourth wicket to lead India's fightback. Shivam Dube also chipped in with 27 off 16 as India went past the 175-run mark.

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Virat Kohli's batting stats in 2024 T20 World Cup

In eight innings in the 2024 T20 World Cup, Kohli scored 151 runs at an average of 18.87 and a strike rate of 112.68. The right-handed batter began his campaign with three single-digit scores - 1 vs Ireland, 4 vs Pakistan and 0 vs USA.

The former India captain registered scores of 24 and 37 against Afghanistan and Bangladesh respectively before being dismissed for a duck against Australia in Gros Islet. He managed only nine in the semifinal against England in Guyana before lifting his game in the final against South Africa.