Indian captain Virat Kohli had a forgettable game in the fourth T20I against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday (March 18). During India’s innings, he scored just one run before being stumped by Jos Buttler off Adil Rashid and then walked off the field in the death overs of England’s chase, allowing his deputy Rohit Sharma to lead the side to a thrilling win in the must-win contest.
When Rohit resumed his duties as captain, England required 46 runs off the last 4 overs with Ben Stokes and Eoin Morgan going all guns blazing against the Indian bowlers. But with some smart field placements and bowling plans, the Mumbaikar ensured that Kohli’s electrifying stature wasn’t rubbed off the field.
During the post-match presentation, Kohli revealed that he left the field to avoid aggravating any potential injury.
“I ran for a ball; I dived and I threw it. So, I probably was not in the best position. But I just moved out to the outfield, and I was fielding in the inner ring, and the temperature drops really quickly. So your body tends to get stiff. So I just aggravated my upper chord a little bit. I didn’t want to make it into a niggle or an injury,” he said.
Kohli’s absence also raised doubts over his availability for the fifth T20I. But the Indian skipper allayed all such concerns, saying that he should be fit to play in the series decider on Saturday (March 20).
“It is nothing serious. I should be fine by the day after tomorrow because we have a game in the evening. So probably took a smart decision to come off and not sprint 5-6 times and do it up more because we have an important game coming up,” the 32-year-old added.
M.O.O.D!😎😀
An 8⃣-run win in the 4th @Paytm #INDvENG T20I & #TeamIndia level the series 2-2! 👏👏@Paytm #INDvENG
Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/TYCBHIV89r pic.twitter.com/XGUimbNa6c
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 18, 2021
