'Big one coming up...': Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid back Virat Kohli

NEW DELHI: In support of the struggling Virat Kohli, India's head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma have stated that the elegant batter has demonstrated his will and is expected to deliver a "big one" in the T20 World Cup finals against South Africa.
Despite leading the IPL in runs scored this year with 741, Kohli has only managed to score 75 runs in seven innings and has not yet made a major impact on the competition.

"You know with Virat, the thing is, when you play a slightly high risk brand of cricket there can be times when it doesn't come off," Dravid said after India marched into the final with a 68-run win over England in the semifinals at Georgetown, Guyana.

"Even today, I thought he hit a really good six to set the tempo but he was just unlucky that the ball seamed a little bit more. But I love the intent, I love the way he went about doing it.

"And for some reason, I don't want to jinx it but I think there's a big one coming up. I'm just loving his attitude and that he's committing himself on the field - I think he deserves it."

Skipper Rohit also backed Kohli to come good in the final on Saturday, according to PTI.

"He's a quality player. Any player can go through that. But again, we do understand his class and we do understand his importance in all these big games.

"Form is never a problem because when you have played cricket for 15 years, form is never a problem. I thought he's looking good. The intent is there. It's probably saving for the finals".

With three fifties and 248 runs so far, Rohit has become the first player to captain India in a third ICC global event final in less than a year, having done so in the 2023 World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup.

Heaping praising on Rohit, Dravid said: "Whatever I say will fall short. The way he has worked with the team, his strategy, his maturity, the team's response to him, and the time he spends in strategy, planning, discussion with all of us.

"I cannot speak more highly about him as a cricketer and also as a person."

India have worked well as a team

Even though his own work was crucial, Rohit expressed that it was really fulfilling to win a game with a team effort.

"I thought we adapted to the conditions really well. The conditions were a little challenging. We had to adapt and that's been the success story for us so far. You know, till this game, we have adapted to the conditions really well," he said.

At one point, Rohit claimed he thought a 140-150 run target would be sufficient, but he later changed his mind.
"Then we said, OK, another 20-25 runs more. But again, you know I can set the target in my mind, but I don't want to let anyone know about it to the batters because they are all instinctive players.

"We got to 170, which I thought was a very good score on that pitch. And then the bowlers were fantastic."

The Mumbai native also praised his spinners, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, who combined for six wickets.

"...I thought they were very calm. They exactly knew what to bowl. And we had a little chat first after the first innings. We said, try and hit the stumps as much as possible, keep the stumps in play and that's exactly what they did," he said.

When asked about the team's last heartbreak at the ODI showcase seven months ago, Rohit stated that maintaining composure is the main priority at the moment.

"We've got to keep making good decisions throughout the 40 overs and that will help us making the game through. And I thought in this game as well, we were very steady, we were very calm. We didn't panic too much.

"We'll try our best, that's all I can say. The team is in good shape, they're playing well. All I can hope is to put up another good show come the finals."