India’s World T20 journey: Support that Virat Kohli didn’t get in 2016 edition

READ: Virat Kohli’s golden World T20 run ends at the Wankhede stadium

He was not done yet. In the all-important semifinals against the West Indies at the Wankhede, he comes up with another masterclass. A strokeful unbeaten 89, which had all the usual trademark Kohli shots, the cover drives, the punches through the off-side, propelled by some incredible running between the wickets. Unlike the previous games, he was ably supported by Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane at the top of the order, and his captain MS Dhoni at the end. A score of 192 looked match-winning. But in the end, the brute strength of Lendl Simmons and Andre Russels saw West Indies through in one of the most thrilling circumstances, and end India’s run at the World T20.

WATCH: West Indies humble India at the Wankhede

Following his epic against Australia, a morphed photo of Kohli in Bahubali’s avatar had gone viral on social media. It had him carrying the entire Indian team on his shoulders. The morphed image of Kohli not only underscores the popular public perception, but it pretty much sums up India’s travails at the World T20. His match-winning knocks also illustrates how reliant his team has become on the 27-year-old.

PHOTOS: India’s World T20 dream ends at Wankhede

In the end, this particular facet has proven to be India’s undoing. Kohli’s batting at No.3 has been the story of the World T20. The truth of the matter is no one else has looked remotely confident of giving him support. Barring his 43 in the semifinals, Rohit Sharma has done precious little to inspire confidence. Similarly, Dhawan too has looked pretty listless. All the runs the duo had scored in Australia looked like a fading memory from the distant past. Suresh Raina’s problems with the short ball is pretty well documented, and Yuvraj Singh, barring a couple of 20s, has struggled against the spinners.

Read: Virat Kohli smashes 89, creates new T20I record

During India’s glorious campaign at the 50-over World Cup at home five years ago, everyone in the top order chipped in with vital contributions. At 38, Sachin Tendulkar was still the all important lynchpin. But others like Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and captain MS Dhoni all managed to step up at vital junctures in that tournament. Sehwag and Kohli started India’s campaign with stunning centuries against Bangladesh in the opener. Then Raina and Yuvraj came to the party in the quarter-finals against Australia in Ahmedabad. Captain MS Dhoni who did not get going in the entire tournament, chose to play the innings of his life: the match-defining 93 n.o. at the Wankhede to seal it for his side. Every match in 2011 World Cup would throw up a new hero for India.

Read:  No-ball is something that can be avoided, says captain MS Dhoni

Sadly, that did not happen for India this time around. In the semifinals, West Indies found their hero in Lendl Simmons. Interestingly, he was flown in just hours before this match as a last-minute replacement for the injured Fletcher. Great teams in the past have never solely relied on a single individual. Instead, they always had a cluster, a core group of talented individuals, who they could bank upon. The Australian teams between 1999-2007 is a classic reference point in this case. The teams in that period had a bunch of match-winners. Adam Gilchrist, Mathew Hayden, Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds just to name a few. When the chips were down, even an Andrew Bichel has bailed his side out of trouble, in a superlative exhibition of supreme all-round effort in the 2003 edition.