6 High-Profile Matches Where Virat Kohli Failed to Deliver for Team India

(Virat Kohli walking back to the pavilion after being dismissed in the Semi-Finals of the 2019 ODI World Cup)

Indian cricket has been blessed with some of the best players over the years like Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and many more who have been carrying the team in the big ICC events. For the Indian team, Virat Kohli is the player who has got the most runs in the knockout matches of the ICC events and has stood up for the team on most of the occasions. Being the Player of the Tournament in the 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cups along with a Player of the Tournament award in the 2023 ODI World Cup, he has been the player on whom the Indian team has relied for the big matches. However, it hasn’t always been the same for him in the big matches and he has failed on a number of occasions.

Big matches where Virat Kohli failed to do well for the Indian team

Virat Kohli started his international cricketing career for the Indian team in 2008 and since then he has been the player who has won ‘Player of the Decade”, and made more than 26000 runs and 80 centuries. Being hailed as “King Kohli”, he has been the player on whom the Indian team has relied for the big matches and he has made sure that people remember him during crunch situations. However, there are still some matches where Virat Kohli wasn’t at his best and hence the Indian team had to pay the price for it. Some of those matches have been listed below:

1. India vs Pakistan in the 2011 ODI World Cup Semi-Finals

In the 2011 ODI World Cup, the Indian team was a strong contender for winning the ODI World Cup, and in the end, they even lifted the trophy when they defeated the Sri Lankan team in the Finals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The whole of India erupted as they lifted the trophy after a wait of 28 years and it was a moment that was cherished by everyone. However, before reaching the Finals, India played against Pakistan in the Mohali which was the Semi-Finals of the ODI World Cup and being a high pressure game, the Indian players were looking to play well and defeat them.

(Virat Kohli was dejected after getting out in the Semi-Finals against Pakistan)

In the Semi-Finals, India was batting first and was off to an amazing start and now it was the turn of the middle order to make sure that they set up a good target. After the wicket of Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli walked out at number 4 and started playing defensively. However, Wahab Riaz took the benefit of his weakness and started attacking him with short balls which he eventually nicked off and it went straight to Umar Akmal at the point region and he was dismissed for just 9 runs of the 21 balls faced. Though India won the game by 29 runs, it was a big failure for Virat Kohli at such a big stage of the game in his early career.

2. India vs Australia in the 2015 ODI World Cup Semi-Finals

After winning the 2011 ODI World Cup, India entered the 2015 ODI World Cup with the hopes of defending their title well under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. In the whole ODI World Cup League matches, the Indian team was brilliant and in the Group B of the tournament, they were placed at the top of the points table with 6 wins in the 6 games and qualified for the Quarter-Finals where they defeated Bangladesh to secure a place in the Semi-Finals of the tournament. For the Semi-Finals of the game, India played against the host nation Australia in the ground of Sydney and it was the Australian team who batted first well.

(Mitchell Johnson celebrates after dismissing Virat Kohli in the 2015 ODI World Cup Semi-Finals)

Australia posted a total of 328 runs in their 50 overs against the Indian team and with such a big total, India needed someone to go big in the middle order. After the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan, it was Virat Kohli’s turn to play a big innings. He started off defending the balls and was looking to play some big shots now. Against Mitchell Johnson, Virat Kohli tried to play a pull shot and it went straight up in the air which was caught by Brad Haddin and hence he was dismissed for just 1(13) which eventually caused India to lose the match by 95 runs.

3. India vs Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy Finals

India vs Pakistan has always been a great rivalry for the fans because of tensions between the two nations. Against Pakistan, the Indian team played in the Finals of the 2017 Champions Trophy and were the defending champions after winning the trophy in 2013 under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. After defeating the Pakistan team in the group stage, the Indian team was confident of lifting another trophy against their arch-rivals just like they did in the 2007 T20 World Cup Finals and Virat Kohli had the chance of getting his first ICC Trophy as a captain.

(Mohammad Amir riled up after dismissing Virat Kohli in the Finals)

After winning the toss, Virat Kohli decided to bowl first and it came back haunting the team as Pakistan posted a total of 338 runs in their 50 overs and it was a big chase for the Indian team. Fakhar Zaman scored a century after he was given a life by Jasprit Bumrah who overstepped and got him out. In the run-chase, Rohit Sharma was gone for a duck and when Virat Kohli came out to bat, Amir almost got him out when he was dropped by Azhar Ali. But on the next ball itself, Virat Kohli tried to play a flick shot but was caught out by Shadab Khan at point and he was dismissed for 5(9). India lost the Finals of the Champions Trophy 2017 by 180 runs and it was another question on Kohli’s big game legacy.

4. India vs New Zealand in the 2019 ODI World Cup Semi-Finals

The 2019 ODI World Cup was an amazing chance for the Indian team to lift the ODI World Cup for the first time after the 2011 ODI World Cup. Under Virat Kohli, everyone was performing well as Rohit Sharma made 5 centuries in the World Cup and the Indian team finished at the top of the league stage with 7 wins out of the 8 matches played by them. Now, for the Semi-Finals of the tournament, they played against New Zealand at the Old Trafford in Manchester and it was the team that finished at the 4th spot in the points table.

(Trent Boult got the wicket of Virat Kohli in the 2019 ODI World Cup Semi-Finals)

Coming to the match, New Zealand was able to make only 239 runs from the 50 overs that they played and for the Indian team, it looked like an achievable target because of their batting lineup. However, Rohit Sharma got out in the 4th over and after that, it was Kohli’s turn to get in. But a swinging delivery from Trent Boult got the better of him and he was given LBW by the umpire. Virat Kohli was dismissed for just 1(6) in the Semi-Finals and the Indian team failed to qualify for the Finals as they were defeated by a margin of 18 runs from the New Zealand team.

5. India vs New Zealand in the 2021 World Test Championship Finals

In 2019, ICC decided to introduce a World Test Championship Finals where the teams will be awarded points for each test match and on the basis of this, the top two teams will be playing against each other in the Finals of the Tournament. In 2021, India and New Zealand met at the Finals of the 2021 World Test Championship at the Rose Bowl, Southampton and it was the New Zealand team who managed to field first after winning the toss against India. In the first innings of the match, India made 217 runs as Virat Kohli scored 44 runs for the team.

(Kyle Jamieson dismissed Virat Kohli in both the innings of the World Test Championship)

In the second innings of the match, India was 32 runs behind and in the start itself, they lost the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill which brought the score at 2-51 in the 27 overs. With this, Virat Kohli came out in the middle and everyone was expecting him to do well in the overcast conditions of the match. But, he edged a ball to the keeper against Kyle Jamieson and was able to make only 13 runs from the 29 balls faced. India eventually lost the match by 8 wickets as the New Zealand team chased down the target well because of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor’s partnership.

6. India vs Australia in the 2023 World Test Championship Finals

Just like the 2021 World Test Championship Finals, India qualified for the 2023 World Test Championship Finals again and the Indian fans were looking forward to seeing India lifting the World Test mace now. The match was scheduled against India at the Kennington Oval, London and with the toss in India’s favour, they decided to field first because of the overcast conditions and with the way the ball was moving in the first hour. Australia started on a positive note and posted 469 runs with the help of centuries from Travis Head and Steve Smith.

(Steve Smith took an amazing catch to dismiss Virat Kohli in the 2023 WTC Finals)

In the first innings of the match, Virat Kohli failed to have any impact as he was caught out by Steve Smith against Mitchell Starc for just 14 runs while in the second innings of the match, he was again caught out while driving an away ball by Steve Smith on the bowling of Scott Boland. He was dismissed for just 49 runs in that innings and India lost the match by 209 runs and it was the Australian team who lifted the World Test Championship mace for the first time.