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After a poor show in the first India innings in Perth Test last month, Virat Kohli was once again under the firing after he registered scores of seven and 11 in the two innings in the ongoing pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval. Although Kohli came into the second Test after a crucial unbeaten ton, he was expected to replicate that inning in what is his favourite ground down under, but the Indian batter failed to live up to the reputation.
His dismissal added worries to his playing style as he chased a wide delivery from Scott Boland to drive it straight in the keeper’s hand. It is to be noted that Kohli has struggled to play balls in the fifth stump line, a problem which was exposed by former England pacer James Anderson.
He has got a serious technical issue: Sanjay Manjrekar opines
Speaking after Day 2’s play at the Adelaide Oval, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar ripped apart Virat Kohli’s batting, questioning his technique. “I don’t have strong opinions on Virat Kohli. I just say the truths, the facts that I see in front of me. It’s something that I have said before as well… The technique he has developed to counter that line outside the off stump, the swinging ball, has not really made his life easier,” Manjrekar said.
“Clearly that was a problem earlier of no runs and a technical issue. But after getting a 100, he was troubled by that same line, showed that he has got a serious technical issue to which he just can’t find a solution,” he added, addressing that he needs to find a solution to it to prolong his career.
Not only Kohli, Sanjay Manjrekar also hit out at Rohit Sharma who registered single digit scores in the two innings of the pink-ball Test. He opined that Rohit Sharma’s body language was not great during his short stay and his innings showed lack of preparation. “The way he looked as well when he was batting out there, the body language just showed a complete lack of confidence. For somebody ho is struggling for runs coming a few days before the Test and having a quarter of a warm-up game is just not ideal preparation,” Sanjay Manjrekar said.
