Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar shared his thoughts on Virat Kohli’s dismissal in the second innings of the ongoing second Test against the Australian National Cricket Team. He said that the right-hander has serious technical defects and cannot find solutions to them.
Virat Kohli, who scored a magnificent century in the first Test in Perth, suffered setbacks in both the legs of the ongoing Adelaide Test match. The lead batsman looked clueless in both the innings as the Australian pacers were all over him and made life difficult for him. With his stroke in the second essay, it seemed only a matter of time for him.
Virat Kohli was tested by Scott Boland in the second innings
Although it was Mitchell Starc who was better than him in the first innings Scott Boland who put him away in the second innings. The right-arm pacer bowled consistently in the channel outside off and troubled Kohli throughout his stay at the crease in the second innings.
Kohli was eventually bowled by Scott Boland, who was caught by the wicketkeeper-batsman Alex Carey. He was tested completely in his spell by the main swing fast bowler and finally back in the hut for 11 runs off 21 balls. He managed just 7 runs in the first innings.
When the monkey came off the bat, you would have expected a more comfortable Virat Kohli who looked in better form – Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar spoke about Kohli’s innings and noted that the batsman’s technique of going against the line outside made life difficult for him. He also added that having scored a ton in the last game, he expected the underdog to bat freely. Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, he said:
“I don’t have any strong opinions about Virat Kohli. I’m just, you know, telling the truth or the facts that I see in front of me. It’s something I’ve said before. That line block outside of some swinging ball didn’t really make life easy for him.
“When he got 100 runs in the last game, you know, I thought, OK, let’s find out that the lack of runs contributes to the mistakes he’s made. Now when the monkey comes off the bat, you expect a Virat. Kohli is more comfortable and, you know, looks in better shape .”
He has a serious technical problem that he is unable to resolve – Sanjay Manjrekar on Virat Kohli
Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out that Kohli’s concern over the same line indicated that he simply had a technical problem that he could not resolve. He elaborated:
“But it’s clear that it was no problem and a technical problem before. But the fact that he was worried about the same line after getting 100 points showed that he had a serious technical problem that he couldn’t solve.”
Virat Kohli was now looking for a strong comeback in the next game. In the ongoing match, India are in big trouble with 29 runs still in the bank with the loss of 5 wickets. Rishabh pants and Nitish Kumar ReddyIn the crease of the stumps, he would hope to end the deficit and determine the battle objective.
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