India did not hit a single four or six in 97 balls of the World Cup final, what were Kohli and Rahul doing?
In the final match of the World Cup 2023, India spent 16 overs when not a single four or six was hit. What were the batsmen doing at the crease?
While playing against Australia in the final of the World Cup 2023, India could not reach even a single ball to the boundary after the 10th over till the 26th consecutive over. During this period, Australian bowlers continuously put pressure on the Indian batsmen. Shreyas Iyer had hit a boundary on the last ball of the 10th over. After this, KL Rahul hit a four on the second ball of the 27th over. Meanwhile, there were a total of 98 balls when not a boundary was reached. That was when run machine Virat Kohli and dashing batsman KL Rahul were present at the crease.
In fact, the Indian batting faltered at the beginning of the final. India's third wicket fell in just the 11th over. India's injured batsmen Shubhman Gill, Rohit Sharma, and Shreyas Iyer returned to the pavilion.
After this, KL Rahul came to the crease to support Kohli and both started taking their innings forward. But during this time he gave his all in singles and doubles to build partnerships.
The strategy adopted by both of them to make a strong score in the final reduced India's run rate considerably. In the first 10 overs, India had scored around 80 runs at a speed of 8 runs per over. At the same time, only 135 runs could be scored in 26 overs.
However, during this time both made a partnership of 50 runs. Only when neither of them was hitting even a single four or six, did Virat Kohli complete his half-century.
