NEW DELHI: 'Over aggressive', 'failed miserably' -- the internet on Thursday was flooded with messages of hurt and disappointment as star batter Virat Kohli endured yet another failure at the ongoing T20 World Cup.
In the second semi-final against defending champions England in Guyana, Kohli departed for a 9-ball 9 as India suffered an early blow after being put into bat.
The Kohli dismissal came in the third over of the innings when Reece Topley shaped in a back of length delivery. As a reckless Kohli looked to smack it over mid-wicket, he got beaten by the movement as the ball clipped the top of leg-stump.
As Kohli registered his fifth single-digit score at the T20 World Cup, the fans seemed pretty upset with the Indian opener. The 35-year-old has now scored just 75 runs in seven innings this tournament at an average of 10.71.
Earlier, England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to field first against unbeaten India in the semis.
The toss was delayed by 80 minutes because of heavy early morning rain that left the outfield wet.
The winner will face South Africa in Saturday’s final at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. South Africa beat Afghanistan by nine wickets in Wednesday’s lopsided semifinal at Trinidad as Afghans were blown away for 56 runs.
Extra time has been allocated to try to achieve a result Thursday but in the case of a washout and with no reserve day, India would advance as the higher-placed team after the Super Eight.
According to playing conditions of the tournament, at least 10-overs-a-side is a must to constitute a game in the knockout stage.
Both teams were unchanged which means India kept its faith on the struggling form of Virat Kohli, who has scored just 66 runs in six games during the tournament, including two ducks.
Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah
England: Jos Buttler (captain), Phil Salt, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley
