Former England cricketer predicts century for Virat Kohli in T20 World Cup final

India’s star batter Virat Kohli has struggled throughout the T20 World Cup 2024, managing to score only 75 runs across seven innings. 

Kohli scored just nine runs in the semi-final against England and was bowled out by Reece Topley. This was the fifth time in this tournament that Kohli failed to reach double digits.

Kohli, who was the top-scorer in both the 2016 and 2022 T20 World Cups, has become a topic of concern for India as they prepare for the final. With only one match remaining for India to claim their first ICC trophy since 2013, expectations are high for the seasoned batter to perform well in the final.

Former England spinner Monty Panesar has predicted that Kohli will score a century in the final against South Africa on Saturday in Barbados.

“India will win the T20 World Cup final, and Virat Kohli will score 100,” Panesar said, as quoted by The Times of India.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma is also not worried about Kohli's form and has expressed his confidence in the star batter.

“He (Kohli) is a quality player. Any player can go through that. We do understand his class, and we do understand his importance in all these big games. Form is never a problem. When you've played cricket for 15 years, form is never a problem. He's looking good, the intent is there, and he's probably saving for the final. Absolutely (backing Kohli for the final),” Rohit said.

South Africa, on the other hand, has made it to their first-ever T20 World Cup final by defeating Afghanistan convincingly in Trinidad and Tobago. In the other semi-final, Rohit Sharma and his team secured a dominant victory over England by 68 runs in Guyana, avenging their loss in the 2022 T20 World Cup.