Former wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel heaped praise on Virat Kohli’s entertaining cameo on Day 4 of the second Test between India and Bangladesh at the Green Park Stadium, Kanpur
After rain and wet outfield played spoilsport on Day 2 and 3 of the Kanpur Test, fans got to witness the two teams in action on Monday (September 30).
Resuming their innings at 107/3, Bangladesh’s first innings folded for 233 in the post-lunch session, with Jasprit Bumrah (3-50), Mohammed Siraj (2-57), Akash Deep (2-43), R Ashwin (2-45) and Ravindra Jadeja (1-28) sharing the wickets among them.
In reply, Indian batters took the visiting bowling attack to the cleaners, racking up 285/9 (declared) in just 34.4 overs. Yashasvi Jaiswal was the top scorer with 72 off 51 balls, while KL Rahul slammed 68 off 43 balls.
Kohli, who registered scores of 6 and 17 in the opening Test at Chepauk, also played a quickfire knock of 47 in 35 deliveries, which included four boundaries and one six.
Patel lauded Kohli’s innings, noting that it reflected shades of his usual control and resilience at the crease.
"We know how good a batter Virat Kohli is. I think everything said and done, the wicket wasn't that easy to score these kind of runs. But I thought Virat Kohli looked great. He was timing the ball really well. I thought he was using his feet well, but yeah, he did get that lucky escape here, but I don't know how they missed it? But sometimes you need that," Parthiv said while speaking on JioCinema.
"But I think, other than that, I thought Virat Kohli looked in good touch. He was timing the ball really well. We saw how well he used his feet against the two (Bangladesh) spinners and played those big shots. But you know, whatever we know of Virat Kohli we saw today," he added.
Kohli narrowly missed what could have been his fastest half-century in Test cricket, but his contribution helped India gain a handy 52-run lead before they declared their first innings to enforce a result in the rain-marred game.
The hosts would hope to claim the remaining eight Bangladesh wickets quicky on the final day of the Kanpur Test and complete a 2-0 whitewash.
The visitors were 26/2 in their second innings at stumps on Day 4, still trailing India by 26 runs.
