England v India Test 2018: Analysis of Virat Kohli's performance with the bat at Edgbaston

Denzil Pinto 23:01 02/08/2018
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  • Virat Kohli didn’t have to wait long to silence his critics as the Indian captain scored his maiden Test hundred in England.

    A lot of build-up to the five-match Test series was on how the 29-year-old would fare following a disappointing tour in 2014 where he averaged 13.40 in five Tests. But he made an instant impact, scoring 149 off 225 deliveries including 22 fours as India reached 274 in reply to England’s 287 on Thursday.

    It was a masterclass of an innings from one of cricket’s icons although he was lucky to reach triple figures after being dropped twice on 21 and 51 by Dawid Malan at Edgbaston.

    Here, we analyse his performance from the second day in Birmingham.

    STATISTICS

    RUNS: 149

    BALLS: 225

    FOURS: 22

    SIX: 1

    STRIKE-RATE: 66.22

    30-SECOND REPORT

    Before a ball was even bowled, plenty of focus was on Virat Kohli’s battle with James Anderson, who, after dismissing him four times in 2014, upped the ante in the war of words earlier this week. But on Thursday, Kohli let his bat do the talking in style and showed why he is the second best batsman in the Test rankings. The Indian captain might have been fortunate to be dropped twice on 21 and 51 by Dawid Malan but played a superb knock to get his milestone and most importantly saw India close in on England’s first inning score.

    GOT RIGHT

    Came to the crease with the scoreboard reading at 54-2 and led by example as he bossed the innings. Had a plan to deal with the bowling threat of Anderson as well as Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Stuart Broad as he got big strides forward to counter any swing that came his way. Was given two lifelines when dropped by Malan but that did not allow him to lose his focus and kept the scoreboard ticking even when wickets were falling.

    GOT WRONG

    With a score of 149, there’s not much that can be faulted of Kohli’s innings. The only blip came when he was dropped twice but he made sure there was no third chance as he went from strength to strength.

    VERDICT – 9 out of 10

    Kohli showed once again why he is the best batsman in the world with a sensational innings. Although he was unable to remain unbeaten, the standing ovation he received from the Edgbaston crowd when he was dismissed spoke volumes how special his knock was. It could have been so different had Malan got one of those catches but the captain has put his side in a strong position in the Test match. This knock should give him a lot of confidence going forward for the rest of the series.

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