India vs New Zealand: Analyzing Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's performances in ICC ODI knock out games

The stage seems perfectly set for Rohit Sharma and Co. on Wednesday, November 15, as Team India looks to continue its unblemished run thus far at the World Cup 2023. Having secured nine wins out of their nine games in the group stage, India will enter the Semi-Final against New Zealand wanting to ward off those old ICC knock-out demons and set the record straight, once and for all, that they are supremely well-equipped for the said big stage. 

The pressure, as it were, will be unimaginable, no doubt, but one would reckon that with the preparation and camaraderie, individual forms and all other factors combined, this is the best-suited team to take on the upcoming knock-out game(s).

So, the arclights automatically shift onto India's two talismans, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who are likely to lead the rest from the front on the strengths of their vast amounts of experience. The India skipper dons the blue jersey for his fifth straight ICC ODI tournament as opposed to Kohli's seven appearances and perhaps no one apart from these two would know what an occasion of this kind carries with itself in the form of complexity and burden. 

Of course, the squad also boasts marquee names Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, Mohammad Shami and others, who are more than capable of doing the job in such scenarios but it seems almost imperative, at this point, that one of the two aforementioned seniors turns up. It definitely helps that both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have looked closest to their absolute best so far with 594 and 503 runs respectively.

That said, the two haven't definitely been at the top of their respective games when it comes to the ICC knock-out stage (ODI format) which, quite perhaps, reflects in the fact that Team India hasn't won a title since 2011. No doubt, both Sharma and Kohli have scored multiple crucial knocks in such stages but the weight of those big games has certainly been felt by them during some of the most recent occasions. 

So, as we begin the countdown to the momentous semi-final clash against Kane Williamson's New Zealand at Mumbai's iconic Wankhede stadium, let's take a look at how the two white-ball giants have in all 'must-win' games for India in ICC-led ODI tournaments.

1. 2011 World Cup

• Knock-out #1: India against Australia in the Quarter Finals at Ahmedabad

What happened: Ricky Ponting scored an impressive hundred to take his team to 260 in their quota of 50 overs. In response, India got off to a good start but was suddenly found in a spot of bother when MS Dhoni got out cheaply for 7 as the scorecard read 187 for 5. Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina would then take the team over the line for a most memorable win against arch-rivals Australia.

Virat Kohli's score: 24 from 33 balls

Rohit Sharma score: Did Not Play

• Knock-out #2: India against Pakistan in the Semi-Finals at Mohali

What happened: Sachin Tendulkar's gritty yet lucky knock of 85 took India to 260 for 9 at Mohali. In response, Shahid Afridi's team looked imposing to win the game but Indian bowlers held their own against a good start to eventually restrict them to 231. Misbah-ul-Haq, yet again, scored a valiant fifty.

Virat Kohli's score: 9 from 21 balls

Rohit Sharma score: Did Not Play

• Knock-out #3: India against Sri Lanka in the Finals at Mumbai

What Happened: Mahela Jayawardene's superb knock of 103 in the first innings saw India responding with a horrible start. Virender Sehwag would be dismissed by Lasith Malinga in the very first over with Sachin Tendulkar later falling for a score of 18. Virat Kohli, walking in at #4, would then steady things along with Gautam Gambhir with an 83-run partnership before getting out to Tillakaratne Dilshan. MS Dhoni, of course, scored a superb 91 in that match and even hit the iconic six to clinch the World Cup.

Virat Kohli's score: 35 from 49 balls

Rohit Sharma score: Did Not Play

2. ICC Champions Trophy, 2013

• Knock-out #1: India against Sri Lanka in the semi-finals at Cardiff

What happened: MS Dhoni's bowling battalion would prove too imperious for Sri Lanka who manage a measly 181 for 8 in their quota of 50 overs. In response, the Indian top order would finish things off without even breaking a sweat to head to yet another ICC final.

Virat Kohli's score: 58 from 64 balls

Rohit Sharma score: 33 from 50 balls

P.S.: In-form Shikhar Dhawan scored another impressive 68(92) in the same match.

• Knock-out #2: India against England in the finals at Birmingham

What happened: The rain-struck game saw overs reduced to 20 over a side with India, batting first, toiling to get to 129 for the loss of 7 wickets. Virat Kohli showed his class in the game and emerged as the game's top scorer as India, somehow, stopped England from getting over the line. MS Dhoni & Co. won their second ODI ICC trophy and that too with a margin of 5 runs!

Virat Kohli's score: 43 from 34 balls

Rohit Sharma's score: 9 from 14 balls

3. ICC ODI World Cup, 2015

• Knock-out #1: India against Bangladesh in the Quarter Finals at Melbourne

India elected to bat first and started off well until Bangladesh's bowlers put the plug on the scoring. Rohit Sharma led the way for the Men in Blue and remained at the crease till the 47th over to ensure that the score went past 300 (thanks to Ravindra Jadeja's cameo). In response, Bangladesh's batters could never get going, thanks to some impressive bowling by Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami, and they could only muster 193 before being bowled out in the 45th over.

Virat Kohli's score: 3 from 8 balls

Rohit Sharma's score: 137 from 126 balls

• Knock-out #2: India against Australia in the Semi-Finals at Sydney

India would face Australia on their home turf which meant the pressure was increased multifold. It didn't help either that Steve Smith struck a superb hundred and Aaron Finch chipped in with a gritty 81 off 116 deliveries to take their team's first-innings total to 328. India would have fancied its chances on any other day but given the occasion, they struggled to get going and never seemed in the hunt - eventually, they would be bowled out for 233 to be eliminated from the tournament.

Virat Kohli's score: 1 from 13 balls

Rohit Sharma's score: 34 from 48 balls

4. ICC Champions Trophy, 2017

• Knock-out #1: India against South Africa in the Group Stage at The Oval

Not a knock-out game, technically, but having won their opening game against Pakistan and lost to Sri Lanka soon after, it seemed imperative that team India put on a good show against AB de Villiers' South Africa. And the Men in Blue did just as ordered as they got through the Proteas' batting unit for only 191 runs and achieved the target in reply in a matter of 38 overs. Shikhar Dhawan, once again, was at his best in an ICC tournament.

Virat Kohli's score: 76* from 101 balls

Rohit Sharma's score: 12 from 20 balls

• Knock-out #2: India against Bangladesh in the Semi-Finals at Birmingham

Bangladesh did not wish to let another huge opportunity slip and scored a tenacious 264 in the first innings, at the loss of 7 wickets. Team India, though, wasn't going to make of it as both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli showed their class on the day to ease to the target. 

Virat Kohli's score: 96* from 78 balls

Rohit Sharma's score: 123 from 129 balls

• Knock-out #3: India against Pakistan in the Finals at The Oval

Another ICC tournament final but with a major catch - team India had to face Pakistan. MS Dhoni's team had already beaten Sarfaraz Ahmed's team once in the lead-up to the match but the latter were uncharacteristically sloppy and jaded on the day. Fakhar Zaman would belt a trademark 114 from 106 balls to take his team to a whopping 338 in 50 overs and in response, India had a horror of a start. In-form Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli would be dismissed cheaply and by the end of it, Hardik Pandya emerged as the only player to score a fifty as team India somehow lumbered to 158. Mohammad Amir, if you ask Sharma and Kohli, was particularly unplayable that day.

Virat Kohli's score: 5 from 9 balls

Rohit Sharma score: 0 from 3 balls

5. ICC Men's ODI World Cup, 2019

• Knock-out #1: India against New Zealand in the Semi-Finals at Manchester

There's a very specific reason as to why the upcoming semi-final clash against Kane Williamson and co. is special. A little over four years ago, the same two teams had met at Birmingham for a bizarre contest that was played over two days owing to the weather conditions. New Zealand, after being put into bat by Indian skipper Virat Kohli, somehow laboured to 239 for 8 on the backs of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor's fifties. In the second innings, Kiwis Trent Boult and Matt Henry bowled their hearts out to absolutely stun India and their entire fandom across the world to ultimately cause them one of their most mournful upsets of the recent past. No Indian fan wishes to ever relive those '45 minutes of bad cricket'!

Virat Kohli's score: 1 from 6 balls

Rohit Sharma score: 1 from 7 balls