IPL 2020: Virat Kohli off to his worst start in IPL

IPL 2020: With scores of 14, 1 and 3 in three matches, this has been Virat Kohli’s worst start ever to a season of the Indian Premier League.

Captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Virat Kohli has clearly not had the best of starts in the Indian Premier League 2020. In three games, Kohli has scores of 14, 1 and 3 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians respectively, taking his tally to 18 runs in three games. Astonishingly, these are his worst numbers after first three IPL games of a season ever since the tournament started in 2008, which highlights his rustiness with the bat after being away from cricket since March.

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After three matches, Kohli averages six (also his worst after three games) in the ongoing IPL with a strike-rate of 62.07. Before this, his worst start came in the first ever IPL in 2008, when his tally read 37 runs from three games. In 2009, he had 64 runs from the first three matches of the season and surprisingly, last year, during the IPL 2019, Kohli had combined to score 55 runs after the first three games. The below table will offer you a better idea of Kohli’s struggles.

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Prior to the start of IPL 2020, Kohli had stressed how important it will be to get off to a good start considering he had spent the last five-six months in lockdown. The last Kohli played before the IPL was the Test series in New Zealand, where again, he did not have the best of outings, and yet, as far as the IPL is concerned, the start hasn’t been promising either.

In the first match against Sunrisers, Kohli was stifled by the leg-spin of Rashid Khan. He finally scored a boundary but was out caught in the deep off the bowling of left-arm seamer T Natarajan. In the second match against KXIP, Kohli had a tough time both in the field and with the bat. In the first innings, Kohli dropped KL Rahul twice in two overs, allowing the KXIP captain to score a century. Chasing a daunting 207 to win, Kohli lasted just five balls, scoring 1 before getting out to West Indies quick Sheldon Cottrell.

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Kohli’s third low score came against MI on Monday, when he chipped a ball from leg-spinner Rahul Chahar to his counterpart Rohit Sharma at cover. Kohli has found himself in the middle of an odd struggle, while the likes of Rohit and teammate AB de Villiers have found their touch in the IPL.