WI v IND 2023: Bishop praises Kohli for his commitment; says every young Caribbean cricketer should learn from him

Kohli had to dive to make his ground while attempting a dangerous single.

Former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop was mightily impressed with veteran India batter Virat Kohli’s energetic running between the wickets and him diving to ensure he made ground during the day one of the second Test between the two sides being played in Trinidad.

Virat Kohli is playing his 111^th Test and his 500^th international match for India and was seen stealing singles and doubles from under the nose of Caribbean fielders.

In the 72nd over, Kohli and his partner Ravindra Jadeja took off for what seemed like an easy two, but as Kohli came running back for the second, he realised he was in danger. As the fielder's throw from third man came zooming in, Kohli put in a fully-stretched dive to ensure his run was completed.

This commitment from a player in his 500^th international game, made Bishop, who was on commentary, unleash praise for Virat Kohli.

"Absolutely superb. That's the sort of desperation you love to see incorporated in your batting and batsmanship. This is a Test match. You sometimes see guys doing this in desperation in a one-day or white-ball scenario, but here is a guy who has been around for 500 international games and in a Test match, knows the value of every run. Putting his body on the line and diving to make sure he's in. That tells you how badly he wants whatever he gets out of this innings," Bishop said during commentary.

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Virat Kohli had to call for physio and his jersey was all a mess. His taped finger had also suffered some damage. But Kohli's work ethics, Bishop pointed out that he wishes to see young batters – both male and female – from the West Indies learn from Kohli’s ethics and running between the wickets.

"I wish I could get every young batter in the Caribbean - male and female - running like that and not just sitting back waiting for boundaries. You know how much you can top up your scores but this sort of intensity... I have seen a number of batters no desperate enough to dive and commit themselves like that. This is a good example," added the former Windies quick.

Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 87 and Ravindra Jadeja was 36* as India ended day one on 288/4.

During the course of play, Kohli surpassed Virender Sehwag to become India's fifth-highest scorer in Tests, fifth-highest run getter in international cricket and the fifth-highest run-scorer by a batter from No. 4 in Tests.