Will Kohli Shut Critics Up In Pakistan Game?

Virat Kohli, a pillar of Indian batting, stumbled in the team's T20 World Cup opener against Ireland.

Opening alongside Rohit Sharma for the first time in a World Cup match, Kohli's forgettable outing yielded just 1 run from 5 balls -- his lowest score ever in the tournament.

Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar offers hope. He views this as a momentary lapse and expects a fired-up Kohli in the high-octane clash against Pakistan.

Gavaskar believes the desire to make amends will fuel Kohli's performance, potentially leading him to 'score double the runs' to silence his critics.

'The way I look at it is great players like Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, Babar Azam and Joe Root. They fail in one match; they wanna make up for it in the next match. They want to score double the runs,' Sunny G said.

'So whatever runs he might not have gotten (against Ireland), you know, he wants to score double the runs. And who better to score double the runs than against Pakistan?' Gavaskar told Star Sports after India's win over Ireland.

With the clash against Pakistan a douple of days away, all eyes will be on Kohli to deliver a match-defining performance and silence his critics.

• T20 WORLD CUP