India vs England 2020-21: Was the SKY factor key to Virat Kohli opening the batting?

Suryakumar Yadav has made a terrific debut with Team India in the Twenty20 circuit, having smashed 89 runs in two innings. Meanwhile, skipper Virat Kohli surprised everyone by opening during the fifth Twenty20 International against England, as he was successful.

Team Newsable

Mumbai, First Published Mar 22, 2021, 12:38 PM IST

Team India sprung in some surprises in the form of some heroic performances from debutants. Also, skipper Virat Kohli was on the list.

What happened?
During the final T20I, Kohli came out as an opener, which turned out to be highly vital for him, as he smashed an unbeaten 80. Supported by senior opener Rohit Sharma's 64, India managed a total past 220, as the latter won the tie and the series.

As Kishan scored 60 in a couple of innings, SKY nailed it with 89 in the same number of innings. Owing to the considerable success with the debutants' experiment, Kohli decided to try one of his own.

During the final T20I, Kohli came out as an opener, which turned out to be highly vital for him, as he smashed an unbeaten 80. Supported by senior opener Rohit Sharma's 64, India managed a total past 220, as the latter won the tie and the series.

ALSO READ: IPL 2021- Will Virat Kohli open for Royal Challengers Bangalore?

India vs England 2020-21: Was the SKY factor key to Virat Kohli opening the batting?-ayh

Possible reason
As a result, fans are wondering what prompted Kohli to promote himself as the opener. Meanwhile, former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan feels that SKY himself could have been the reason for Kohli to do so.

"The question one should ask is how Virat Kohli could open the innings? It was because India had a batsman like Suryakumar Yadav. SKY went out and showed what he could do, batting at number three," Zaheer was quoting as saying to Cricbuzz.

"This thinking, I feel, started from there, and it resulted in Virat Kohli thinking 'I can't keep batting down the order'. Shreyas Iyer has also been pushed down. So, he decided that opening the innings could be a better option and that he should try it out," concluded Zaheer.

What's next for Kohli?
Team India is experimenting with its batting order as much as possible to get the winning combination right, ahead of the ICC World T20 to be held in India this year. Following the final T20I, Kohli also asserted that he would open for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the upcoming Indian Premier League to prepare himself as an opener for the global event.

Last Updated Mar 22, 2021, 12:42 PM IST

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India vs England 2020-21: Was the SKY factor key to Virat Kohli opening the batting?

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