ENG vs IND 2022: Wasim Jaffer, a former Indian batter, thinks that Virat Kohli needs to learn more about the types of balls he needs to leave outside off stump. Jaffer said that teams will keep going after the star batter in the corridor of uncertainty, and it’s up to Kohli to find a way out.
In the second ODI against England at Lord’s on Thursday, the 33-year-old’s bad luck continued when he was out for 16 off 25 balls. Again, Kohli was out because he hit the ball outside the off-stump. David Willey, who bowls with his left arm, got him with a delivery that went across.
ENG vs IND 2022: What did Wasim Jaffer say about Virat Kohli?
Jaffer said that Kohli needs to be careful about how he plays deliveries outside of off stump after the former Indian captain was out. He said this during a talk on ESPNcricinfo:
“Virat Kohli looked good again, but teams will always keep bowling outside off stump. He needs to know that, especially on those lengths where he can’t get runs off. He can hit anything short to the third man. Anything full is also fine. But he has to know which deliveries he has to skip.”
Jaffer was upset that the batter who was having trouble missed a great chance to start getting runs again on Thursday. He told them:
“Today was the day (Thursday). No pressure was put on the run rate. As he batted in the second half, the pitch was pretty good. He started really well, but he hasn’t gotten a perfect score in almost two years. The fifth and sixth stumps will be the focus of the teams. He has to figure something out.”
Before his 16 in the second ODI, Kohli had scores of 1 and 11 in the two T20Is and 11 and 20 in the rescheduled Test. He didn’t play in the first one-day match because he hurt his groin.
“That can sometimes just dig a hole for you,” Ashley Giles said of India’s slow approach to batting at Lord’s
Ashley Giles, who used to bowl left-arm spin for England, thinks that India made things harder for themselves at Lord’s by being too cautious.
Giles said that India’s start was like England’s in the 2019 World Cup final:
“The result was different, but India’s slow start was the same as England’s was in the 2019 World Cup final. When chasing 247 in a modern game, you sometimes know you have a lot of time.
There’s no need to hurry. Sometimes, that can make things worse. Someone needs to take control of the situation. Ben Stokes did that for England three years ago. That had to be done by someone in an Indian shirt.”
The series is tied at 1-1, so India and England have everything to play for in the third and final ODI on Sunday in Manchester (July 17).
