Sydney: The second World Cup semi-final was supposed to be a battle between Mitchell Johnson and Virat Kohli. While Johnson came out triumphant, Kohli failed miserably with the bat. The result of a failure, especially in a crucial match, has made Kohli the butt of a joke that says the semi-final was a ‘one’ day for him. He took one run, one catch, bowled one over and even dropped one catch.
When Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was asked if Kohli’s failure with the bat proved too costly for India, Dhoni defended him: “I feel he went out there and played a shot that didn’t pay off. It happens, and it happens to a lot of batsmen. Once the opposition puts over 300 runs on the board and if they have quality bowlers, at some point of time you have to take that risk; if it pays off, it clicks and then all of a sudden everything changes. I would say it happens in cricket.”
Australian skipper Michael Clarke was asked whether taking the wicket of Kohli, who had tormented them all summer with big scores, was the turning point of the game. Clarke noted that India does not depend on one batsman, and said: “India have got more than one really good player so we didn’t feel like that. He (Kohli) is obviously a big player with an extremely successful one-day record. There’s no doubt about it. His record is phenomenal, and it takes a big player to get him out, and Mitchell Johnson stood up and did that for us. I think Virat is a class player and he has shown that throughout the summer and shown it throughout his career. I wouldn’t be writing Kohli off, that’s for sure.
“He’s got a lot of cricket left in him, a lot of runs left in him. It’s just that tonight Johnson executed his skills very well and the ball didn’t hit the middle of Virat’s bat, which is a nice thing sometimes.”
Incidentally, with big scores coming from Steven Smith now, there is also talk among fans whether Smith is better than Kohli. Clarke then spoke on why Smith is among the best batsman in world today. “I think he has made the most of his opportunity. I can’t speak enough on the way he’s batting at the moment. He is showing his class. But most importantly, I think the one thing I’ve learnt through my career is getting into good form and scoring runs is a fantastic feeling, but to go to training the next day to work on your game, to try and become better, is one of the hardest things to do in this game; and that’s what makes you a great player.
“That’s what I’ve been really proud with Smitty (Smith). He’s still training extremely hard, still getting there early, still doing the work even though he’s batting so well and I can’t say I’m surprised he’s getting the results. He’s earned it and I think there’s no doubt there’s a long, long way to go in his career. There’s a lot more runs to score, but he’s certainly leading the way at the moment.”
