Yet another cheap dismissal for Virat Kohli invited another critical post on social media from former India star Sanjay Manjrekar. Virat Kohli arrived in the middle of the Pune pitch, hoping to revive India’s hopes with the bat against New Zealand on Day 2 of the second Test. But, after facing 8 balls, the talismanic batter was bowled by Mitchell Santner. With just 1 run scored from 9 balls, Virat Kohli only had himself to blame for a poor shot selection against the Kiwi spinner.
In what can be called a rather rare sight, Virat Kohli, India’s talismanic batter, was dismissed off a full-toss by Mitchell Santner on Day 2 of the second Test against New Zealand in Pune. Virat Kohli misjudged the line of the ball and tried to play it on the on-side but failed to get any connection. The ball did the rest as it passed under his bat and knocked the middle and leg stumps, leaving the batter in complete shell-shock.
Virat Kohli’s strange shot selection against Mitchell Santner stunned all
Virat Kohli was dismissed for one run in the second Test against New Zealand in Pune on Friday in very unconventional fashion. Trying to slap a full toss from Mitchell Santner across the line, Virat Kohli missed the ball’s trajectory completely and it slammed into the stumps.
Virat Kohli’s stint in the middle had lasted just nine balls. The dismissal, while absurd for the prolific India batter, also highlighted his struggles against spin on Asian conditions.
Virat Kohli has been dismissed 21 times in 26 innings against spinners in Asia in the past three years, with an average of 28. Of these, 10 dismissals have been to left-arm orthodox bowlers, against whom he averages 27.10. Understandably, Virat Kohli walked off the ground seething after his soft dismissal. Sanjay Manjrekar called the shot by Kohli the “worst shot of his career” as several others also reacted to the dismissal.
Virat Kohli faces flak after full toss dismissal by Sanjay Manjrekar in 2nd test
Sanjay Manjrekar recently commented on Team India’s star batter Virat Kohli’s dismissal on Day 2 (October 25) of their ongoing Pune Test against New Zealand. The former Men in Blue skipper scored just one run before getting out to left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner.
It was a low full-toss delivery, and Kohli attempted to whip it towards the leg side. However, he failed to make any connection and the ball ultimately ended up crashing into the stumps.
Manjrekar opined that Kohli’s misjudgment was more concerning than his shot selection. Pointing out that ‘perception of length’ has been an issue for the batting star for quite some time now, the cricketer-turned-commentator told ESPNCricinfo:
“The worrying thing for me was how much he misread the length. That is what worries me because perception of length seems to be his problem when he’s playing seamers as well. I’ve talked a million times about how he wants to get forward to a ball that is not necessarily full.
“So, it’s how he’s reacting to the length. But against spin, he’s been quite good. This time he completely misread the length of the ball and the ball almost pitched under his bat as he went for the sweep shot. How he missed it was the bigger issue for me than the shot selection.”
It is worth mentioning that this was Kohli’s second failure in three innings in the ongoing Test series. He bagged a duck in the first innings of the Test series opener in Bengaluru. The 35-year-old did redeem himself with a 70-run knock in the subsequent essay, albeit in a losing cause.
Sanjay Manjrekar highlights Shubman Gill’s technical flaw
In the aforementioned source, Sanjay Manjrekar also spoke about India’s top-order batter Shubman Gill’s technical flaw. He suggested that the youngster playing outside the line of the ball has troubled him.
Mentioning that Gill has the tendency to do so against both fast bowlers and spinners, Manjrekar said:
“It’s a problem that he has against spinners as well as fast bowlers. The front pad coming in line and he’s playing outside the line. He got out the second time but the same kind of problems earlier in the innings as well.”
Gill scored 30 runs off 72 balls before getting out LBW to Mitchell Santner. India were bowled out for just 156 in their first innings. Santner was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors, claiming a stunning seven-wicket haul.