Virat Kohli led his team from the front as they defeated Bangladesh by an innings and 46 runs in the second Test match of the two-Test series at Eden Gardens, Kolkata and pocketed the series 2-0.
While Ishant Sharma was named the Man of the Match for his nine wickets in the match and Man of the Series for his 12 wickets overall and Umesh Yadav picked a fifer in the second innings; it was Virat Kohli who scored a sublime century in India’s only innings and took them to a competitive total of 347/6d.
During the post-match conference, Virat Kohli revealed that he got brilliant advice from Sachin Tendulkar on day one, which helped him reach his ton.
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“The afternoon session was relatively easier. Actually, I spoke to Sachin paaji on the evening of the first day and he made a very interesting point as well. Probably with the pink ball, you have to treat the second session like the morning session when it’s getting darker and the ball starts to swing and seam. So, the first session you invariably play as you play from lunch to tea in a normal timing test match, then the second session would be like a morning session and the last session is like that evening session,” Kohli said at the post-match press conference.
He admitted that as a captain in the first-ever pink-ball Test, he had to change his strategy and thinking. He said, “Your planning changes, declaration timing, and everything changes. As a batsman, your strategy changes. Even if you are set and batting well, as soon as it gets dark and lights are on, you can be in trouble very quickly.”
Talking about his experience of playing Test cricket under lights, Kohli likened it to an IPL game and said, “Under lights, it was a different experience. When I walked out, it felt like an IPL game atmosphere. You feel like smashing the first ball but you have to remind yourself that you have to play compact. Also, the ball was coming on faster from the pitch. It seamed a lot more under lights, swung in the first hour of the second session but seamed throughout the evening till the end of day’s play. So, it felt good to be in that situation where there is something new. Something to challenge you.”
“As a batsman, you enjoy situations where you are challenged and you have to get into Test match zone and grind a good spell of bowling out or challenging session out. I enjoyed that challenge,” Kohli concluded.
(IANS inputs)
