Former India batter Gautam Gambhir has supported the under-fire India captain Virat Kohli after his batting failures. Kohli was dismissed cheaply in both the innings of the first Test match against South Africa at Centurion, which India won by 113 runs.
It was the pattern of Kohli's dismissal which once again brought him criticism. He was forced into playing deliveries outside off-stump which ended his stay in the crease.
The 33-year-old scored 35 runs off 94 deliveries and was caught behind the stumps while chasing a delivery from Lungi Ngidi. In the next innings, Marco Jansen got rid of Kohli (18) similarly as the India batter once again played away from his body.
“A lot is being said about Virat Kohli's dismissals in the first Test match. I think some of it is unfounded and creates unnecessary chaos. Kohli has been exceptional in his run-making for India, he just needs to leave lot more balls outside the off-stump and buy time,” Gambhir wrote in his column for Times of India.
The ex-cricketer further backed Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara in his column. While Rahane earned Gambhir's trust with a 48-run knock in the first innings of the opening Test, he is expecting Pujara to deliver soon.
“I wasn't too keen to play Rahane in the first game. But with a decent 48 in the first innings perhaps he would have won himself a place in second Test match too. I'd continue with Cheteshwar Pujara at No. 3," he wrote.
India will play South Africa in the second Test match on Monday (January 3) and they will look to win their first-ever Test series here.
(With The Times of India Inputs)
