Cricket is a game of ups and downs”: Markram on Virat’s form

Discussing the upcoming clash at the Kensington Oval on Saturday, Markram emphasized Kohli’s stature as a great player, while also highlighting the depth of India’s batting lineup.

“I don’t think it worries me. He’s a great player, as we all know. But they’ve got their whole batting unit full of great players. And cricket’s a game of ups and downs. You’re not always going to do well, especially as a batter. So, we just do our planning, do our preparation from a meeting point of view for planning towards those batters and hopefully on the day we can get that right,” Markram said during the pre-match press conference.

Despite a stellar IPL 2024 season with Royal Challengers Bangalore, where Kohli claimed the Orange Cap with 741 runs, his form in the T20 World Cup has been lackluster, managing only 75 runs in seven matches.

Kohli momentarily showed a glimpse of his old form with a powerful shot over mid-wicket against Reece Topley, but the English pacer soon dismissed him, highlighting Kohli’s inconsistent performance in the tournament.

Squads for the T20 World Cup Final: India: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, Mohammed Siraj, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.