India batter Virat Kohli had a poor start to the T20 World Cup 2024 as the star failed with a score of 1 off 5 balls in the team’s campaign opener against Ireland in New York on June 5. Kohli, who was trying too hard to go for big shots from the start of the innings, eventually perished while going for a lofted shot. He danced down the track on a Mark Adair delivery only to edge the ball to third man.

During his short stay at the crease, Kohli never looked in complete control yet he tried to go for big shots and that dragged the attention of former India player Sanjay Manjrekar.

The ex-cricketer felt that Kohli was certainly feeling the pressure of the strike rate, something that has put him under a lot of criticism in the past.

Given India were chasing a target of 97 runs against Ireland, Manjrekar said that Kohli could have taken his time.

“I am very surprised that he got out. He got out while trying to play a shot. Somewhere he was feeling the pressure of strike rate. In IPL he managed it. In this match, he didn’t need to play a brisk knock. He would have played normally as in such pitches he would not get out if he plays normally as he has the class of Test cricket,” said Manjrekar while speaking to ESPNcricinfo.

It is worth noting that Kohli’s strike rate had come under a lot of scrutiny in the recently-concluded Indian Premier League but the star batter replied his critics with his career-best performance in the tournament in terms of strike rate.

Kohli won the Orange Cap in IPL 2024 by scoring 741 runs in 15 matches at an average of 61.75. His strike rate was 154.70, the best in his entire IPL career.