Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar heaped up rich praise for Indian skipper Virat Kohli after his classy 62 in the 2nd Innings of the ongoing second Test match between India and England and said that Kohli is one of the few modern-day batsmen who can play the pull shot against spinners on a turning pitch.
Proceeding on the 3rd day with an overnight score of 54/1, Team India didn’t get off to the best of starts as they lost five wickets in the first session of day 3 on a turning Chennai track.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli, after getting out for a duck in the first innings, scored a swashbuckling knock of 62 runs on Chepauk pitch where some of his established teammates struggled to score.
Virat Kohli showcased absolute class and batted with explicit footwork to bring up his 25th half-century in Test cricket. Kohli also stitched an important 96-run stand for the seventh wicket with R Ashwin, who registered a gritty century.
Reflecting on Virat Kohli’s batting masterclass former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar lauded Kohli’s technique against spinners and said that the latter has been very classical and old-fashioned.
"He's always had great technique against spinners. He's been very classical, very old fashioned, very copybook where if the ball is pitched right up, he gets onto the front foot. And when he gets onto the front foot, it stretches really long. And he ensures that his backfoot stays inside the crease, unlike Rohit Sharma," Sanjay Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.
Manjrekar pointed out that Virat Kohli’s method against spin bowling and said that Kohli is one of the few modern-days batsmen who can play the pull shot against spinners on a turning pitch.
"And if the ball is slightly short, where he feels he can't get on to the front foot and get it under-hit bat, he rocks back and plays off the back foot. So he's one of the few modern-day batsmen who can play the pull shot against spinners on a turning pitch."
Manjrekar further explained how batsmen with superior hand-eye coordination, including R Ashwin, will perform much better than academy-trained batters on spinning tracks like Chennai.
"That technique and that understanding of how the ball behaves – you see that with Ashwin as well – so any batsman who has a feel for the ball will make the necessary adjustment.
"This is something that the academy-taught, batsmen or who are shaped on bowling machines can struggle a bit, but anybody who’s got a great sense of hand-eye coordination tends to do well on these type of pitches," he concluded.
Virat Kohli’s gritty knock of 62 runs came to an end as Indian skipper was trapped in LBW by Moeen Ali
(ESPNCricinfo inputs)
