Rohit Sharma bad, Virat Kohli worse! How India batters perform in Tournament Finals?

India will be relying on their two batting gladiators as they prepare for the World Cup 2023 Final on Sunday against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

The Indian team has been an indomitable force in this tournament, winning ten out of their ten matches. And their batting has been a keystone area which has lived up to its lofty heights.

A strong base comprised of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and other pillars like Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul have made India's batting a robust unit in the tournament. As they face the Australia challenge in the final, expectation for the batting unit to rise is high.

But amid India's encounter, it is also important to have a look at how these batting stars have fared in crunch situations in previous tournament finals. And if we have a look at it, India do have a dearth in numbers when it comes to scoring in tournament finals.

Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have struggled in tournament finals, whereas the likes of Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill are yet to feature for India in a proper tournament final. It will be an inexperienced Indian unit when it comes to playing finals and they will have overcome the challenge against the Aussies on Sunday.

Rohit Sharma

India captain Rohit Sharma has found things difficult in tournament finals. He has so far amassed 256 runs in 11 tournament finals, scoring just two fifties in those matches.

Rohit's highest score of 66 came in his first final against Australia in the VB series in 2008. The flamboyant batter has so far played 2 ICC finals, where he managed only 9 runs in two matches - 9 vs England (CT 2013) and a duck vs Pakistan (CT 2017).

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli, who is the current leading run scorer of World Cup 2023 with 711 runs, has a torrid record in tournament finals.

Kohli has only managed 154 runs in nine matches with a poor average of 22. The Indian batting stalwart has no 50+ scores in finals, and his highest score of 43 came against England in the Champions Trophy in 2013.

Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul have never batted in any tournament finals in their career. It will be a difficult task for the Indian batters against Australia, and the aforementioned batting duo will have to showcase their class and score big runs for India.