Veteran Wicket Keeper Batter Dinesh Karthik discussed how the Star Indian batter Virat Kohli fell victim to an exceptional delivery from ace Pacer Kagiso Rabada on Day 1 of the 1st Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
Dinesh Karthik spoke about the way Kohli batted. He noted that Kohli had played with great composure until he was dismissed. The batter from Tamilnadu said only an outstanding delivery from Kagiso Rabada to dismiss the veteran Indian batsman.
Saying his perspective on the contest between Kohli and Rabada in the opening Test of the series, Karthik shared his insights with Cricbuzz:
“Centurion has been a very happy hunting ground for Kagiso Rabada. In the same way, Virat Kohli has some success on Centurion as well and has got a hundred there. So, when the best is up against the best, you have to see what the challenge is all about. It is just not a battle of technique, but the mental battle is as tough as anything else.”
“Virat Kohli batted really well, weathered the first spell, and when he did come back for his second spell, he did everything he could till he got that nasty one. It was angled in, pitched, and went out. As a batter, all you can do is just play the line, which is what Virat Kohli did, and it ends up taking your edge. There is not too much you can do.” the RCB batter added.
“You cannot say unlucky, but he is always going to live by the sword and die by the sword when it comes to the pull shot. Today was one that did not go past the rope. We have seen it plenty of times in the last few months where it has gone way beyond the boundary line and has given us a lot of joy. I do not think we can really fault him; it is something that comes to him very instinctively,” Dinesh Karthik said.
The Men In Blue saw a steady fall of wickets at regular intervals on Day 1. KL Rahul was the sole warrior for the visitors, concluding the day unbeaten with a score of 70. Team India ended the day with a total of 208/8.