Virender Sehwag: India never chased 160 in World Cup without Virat Kohli | Cricket News

Former India opener Virender Sehwag shared an interesting statistic after India lost to South Africa in their first Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.India gave away 187 runs after being asked to bowl first and were later bowled out for just 111 runs, losing the match by 76 runs. This heavy defeat could hurt their chances of reaching the semi-finals.

Sehwag pointed out that India have never won a World Cup match while chasing more than 160 runs. He said that when the team had a chance to play like Kohli in pressure situations, players like Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, and Hardik Pandya could not step up.“India have won chasing 160 only when Virat Kohli made runs. Otherwise, India have never won chasing more than 160 in a World Cup. And in most cases, he used to stay unbeaten. Be it 80, 60, or 50 not out, Kohli used to finish the match. Which player finished the match yesterday (vs SA)? In this World Cup, which batsman has finished the match? Yesterday, many players had the opportunity to become Virat Kohli,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.From Sehwag’s view, Suryakumar Yadav was not at his best against South Africa. He felt that Suryakumar looked under pressure while trying to save the match, and this stopped him from playing his natural game. Sehwag said that playing with fear does not help a team win big matches. He believes that if India want to do well in the World Cup, they must play fearless cricket and stay confident in tough situations.“Be it Surya Kumar Yadav. He doesn’t play like he played against South Africa… It felt like Surya Kumar Yadav was playing under pressure. He is playing to save. If you play like that, it is difficult to win. India will have to play fearless cricket,” he further added.Speaking about India’s strong batting line-up, Virender Sehwag said the players need to learn from Virat Kohli. He explained that while strike rate is important in T20 cricket, it does not matter much during a run chase if a batter can stay till the end and finish the match for the team. Sehwag added that Indian batters must take more responsibility in pressure situations and focus on winning games rather than just scoring quickly.“Tilak Verma had a chance. Surya Kumar Yadav had a chance. Shivam Dube had a chance. Hardik Pandey had a chance. Someone has to become Virat Kohli. Someone has to finish the match. Someone has to learn. How did Virat Kohli finish games? We talk about strike rate. Ok, I agree that strike rate matters. But when you chase, you can see the scoreboard. Then you can play as you wish and win the game. Then strike rate doesn’t matter. So, I think the players will have to take the responsibility,” he added.