ICC World Cup 2019 | I thought Virat Kohli captained brilliantly against Afghanistan, writes Krishnamachari Srikkanth

Virat Kohli manoeuvred his resources well to successfully defend a modest target and secure their fourth win of the tournament. Mohammed Shami picked four wickets while Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal were equally effective with the ball in hand.

Defending such a modest total was always going to be a challenge and demanded wickets at regular intervals, which Indian bowlers did with perfection. The match went down the wire and Shami’s last over heroics handed India an emphatic win. Krishnamachari Srikkanth, in his column for the ICC, has lauded Virat Kohli’s captaincy. 

“I thought Virat Kohli captained brilliantly against Afghanistan and it was thanks to his outstanding leadership that India got the win in the end. He knew he didn’t have a big total to defend – just 224 – and he knew his two main, wicket-taking strike bowlers were Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal. The way he utilised both of them in phases and brought them in when required to get those vital wickets, was fantastic. You know you’re limited to five bowlers and you don’t really have many options, so it’s about how you rotate the bowlers to get the most out of them,” Srikkant wrote for ICC. 

Bumrah turned the game on its head with two wickets in the same over and pulled things back for India. Kohli made a smart move by getting Bumrah into the attack and eyes for wickets. His execution was fantastic and were equally supported by the bowlers. 

“When do you go to the key bowler? When do you attack and when do you choke the opposition? Kohli answered those questions perfectly and that was the key to victory. India had to take wickets in the middle overs when the partnership between Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi was building. Bumrah was brought on by Kohli and got two wickets in the same over – that changed the course of the game,” he added. 

Srikkant also felt that Afghanistan should have chased down the target and squandered a golden opportunity of winning a game in the prestigious tournament. 

“The Bumrah and Chahal combination was superb but from the Afghan point of view, even though Mohammad Nabi did a brilliant job with the bat, I still believe they should have chased down 225. It was a good opportunity for Afghanistan to win a match at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and make a statement by beating India, who have been the most dominant side in the tournament so far."