India are leading by 1-0 in the Test series against Sri Lanka and are also in a winning position in the second Test so far. Virat Kohli has scored 23 and 13 runs in the first and second innings respectively of the match and Dinesh Karthik has criticized his tactics to play against spin in the match.
India are heading in the Test series by 1-0 against Sri Lanka and are also in a position of strength in Bangalore to win the game. The team have performed well so far and Shreyas Iyer has been the most outstanding performer as he has scored half-centuries in both the innings. Jasprit Bumrah took a five-wicket haul in the first innings. However, the century drought for Virat Kohli continues as he managed to score 23 and 13 runs in the first and second innings of the match respectively.
In 11 of his last dismissals at home since 2020 nine have come against spinners. Also, four of them were LBW and two of them have come in the ongoing Test. Dinesh Karthik has pointed out that Kohli has changed his positioning while batting at the crease. He said that the former India captain has been standing a bit outside leg-stump but the strategy is causing him more trouble.
“I’m pretty surprised as to where he is standing in the crease. He is standing touch outside leg stump. And that you do when you are little worried about LBW. But that in many ways actually causes you more trouble the moment you stand outside leg stump because almost all balls you need to meet across,” he explained to Cricbuzz.
“But when you stand in middle or between middle and leg stump, there is a good chance that the balls that are drifting into you say the middle stump then you end up playing a lot straighter.”
“The moment you stand outside leg stump, everything you do tend to go across and so the one that comes in has the potential to get you lbw. So that is one thing that I have been very surprised with the strategy he has used to play spin.”
Kohli has been a consistent run-scorer in international cricket and is also considered to be part of fab 4 of this generation. However, the Delhi based cricketer scored his last century in 2019 and has been waiting to score another ton since then. Also, his recent dip in the form has dropped his average below 50 for the first time since 2017.
“Kohli over the years has consistently stood at middle or between middle and leg and that allows him to play with softer hands. And this mindset has come obviously because players who do not want to get lbw do that. And he wants to avoid that,” he stated.
“Interestingly, in both the innings he got out lbw. Yes the ball kept a little low in the first innings but in the second innings I guess it was a touch and was a kind of delivery you play on it. The place Kohli stood on the crease is a hard place to bat on especially on these kind of tracks.”
