Virat Kohli Gained his Form and Babar Azam Lost it
Kohli is Back
After a long period, Virat Kohli has finally found his lost form. He is doing great in the Asia Cup 2022. Betjee in its articles has also predicted that he might be dangerous in the Asia Cup 2022and he proved so. Till now in its three matches, he has scored 35, 59* and 60 against Pakistan, Hong Kong and Pakistan again in super 4. The overall strike rate of the former captain is 126. The good thing is, that the air at game and training has become calm for him. So, taking a break was not that bad.
Before Asia Cup, he was very dishearted. He was struggling and he elaborated as well. He lost his perspective as a human being, obsessed with being professionally disoriented. He stopped taking the bat up and got completely off from cricket.
The phase came on the back of a rowdy period. He left the captaincy of IPL, ODI and T20. He did not expect it at all an hour before the selection committee meeting. Then he himself left the captaincy of Test cricket by himself at the start of the year. By reducing all the burden, still he could not get the runs he used to make in the ground.
But the hard work and consistency pay off. He is now the second-highest scorer in the tournament. He has smashed a total of 154 with two half-centuries. The highest is Pakistan’s Muhammad Rizwan.
After discovering his mojo, he is getting harmful to the opponents each passing day. In the last match against Pakistan, he smashed boundaries to Shadab, Hasnain and Naseem Shah sparing no one. He sent them to the boundary on the very first or second ball he faced.
Being aggressive, it was difficult but he slowed down in the second half of his batting. The reason was the fall of the wickets, which were ongoing on the other end. If it would not have been there and someone stands with him, the score could be 200 or plus. But the loss of wickets in the middle overs was not a worry as he can push 25-30 runs extra in that. His aim was to make the score touch by 200. And in trying so, he got himself out.
Kohli is confident enough to go through the same continuity and be a helping hand for the team. It needs peace of mind, understanding the conditions and playing freely.
In the match against India, Harris Rauf bowled his last over very well. His slow balls and fast Yorkers were very difficult to play for any batsman.
Babar Azam Lost His Form
Where Kohli gain his form, Babar Azam lost it. He performed poorly in all three matches against India, Hong Kong and India. He scored 10, 9 and 14 runs. The reasons might be the pressure of high-intensity matches and the defensive approach.
Babar is No 1 in the ICC Batting ranking of T20 and ODI. At this moment as well, the team is greatly dependent on him as far as batting is concerned. So if the center of gravity is getting out a low score, the situation gets alarming. But yes, he is a great player and can get his form back very soon.
Pakistan has already won a match in super 4 and the team will play its next match against Afghanistan on 7 September.