World Cup 2019: IPL-style playoffs an option but semis different kind of fun, says Virat Kohli

What’s the story?

Indian captain Virat Kohli has stated that in the upcoming editions of World Cup, the IPL-style playoffs may be implemented. However, he has also said that playing knockouts was also a different kind of fun and presents a different challenge in itself.

In case you didn’t know...

India had a very good campaign at the World Cup in England but lost out in the semi-finals to New Zealand at Manchester. India had qualified as table-toppers while New Zealand had scraped through to the semis, thanks to their superior NRR over Pakistan.

The unique format of the IPL allows the top two teams two chances to reach the final-Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2. The top two teams square off in Qualifier 1. The winning team moves on to the finals while the losing team has a second chance by playing the Qualifier 2 where they face the winners of the Eliminator which takes place between the team finishing at third and fourth position in the points table.

In the previous edition of the World Cup, India had won all the matches before bowing out to Australia in the semi-finals.

The heart of the matter

Speaking after the game in the post-match press conference, Kohli said:

“Who knows in the future. Maybe. If topping the table means anything. I think these things can come into consideration, looking at the magnitude of this tournament. That is a really valid point. You never know when that is going to be implemented.”

“But I think that's the challenge and different kind of fun of these games as well that you have to be precise. It doesn't matter what you have done before that.”

"It's a different challenge for all the teams to turn up on that day and be absolutely at the top of their game and whoever does that they get the result, as you saw today.”

Some fans feel that the current format is a bit harsh on the teams who finish as table toppers as they can be knocked out of the tournament for some ordinary display for a brief duration in the knockouts. The same was witnessed yesterday as Kohli’s men were knocked over by the Kiwi pace bowling attack as India lost their trusted top order with just 5 runs on the board.

What’s next?

India next travel to the West Indies to play a full-fledged tour consisting of 3 T20Is, 3 ODIs and 2 Test matches. The tour begins on 3rd August.

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