Century Drought Is Something That Is Playing On Virat Kohli’s Mind, Feels Former India Batting Coach Sanjay Bangar

Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar, who has worked for a long time with India captain Virat Kohli, said that the ongoing century drought is something that is concerning to the batsman while opining about his batting form.

In the recently concluded final of the World Test Championship, which New Zealand won by beating India by 8 wickets, Virat Kohli managed 44 and 13 in the two innings of the Test match at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. His and Cheteshwar Pujara’s early wickets on the morning of the reserve day proved to be the turning point of the game.

Sanjay Bangar was India’s batting coach when the team last traveled to England in 2018, where India lost the Test series 1-4, and the ODI series 1-2 while winning the T20I series 2-1.

He Has Already Scored Close To 7,500 Test Runs, And This (Test) Is A Format Where He Just Simply Gives It His All: Sanjay Bangar On Virat Kohli

Talking about Virat Kohli’s batting form, given that he was dismissed by his Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammate Kyle Jamieson in both innings of the WTC final, Bangar said that Test is a format where he gives it his all.

“He has already scored close to 7,500 Test runs, and this is a format where he just simply gives it his all. It’s not that he doesn’t value T20 or ODI cricket; he plays with equal intensity, but the job satisfaction that he derives (in Tests) – because this is the toughest format. And in modern times, because there are no dead rubbers, so every Test match is valued, and every team is playing for a result. This means that whatever is on offer — from a batting perspective — is always challenging for the batsman,” Bangar said on a Star Sports show.

“So to excel in each and every Test match, and obviously, to get over the drought of the three-figure – which may have been playing on his mind – I think this is something that he would look ahead to. The way he batted in the first innings was a clear indication of the kind of touch and the kind of rhythm he was in. So I think it augurs well for the Indian team,” Sanjay Bangar said.

Virat Kohli, who had a terrible Test series in England in 2014, had bounced back amazingly well in the 2018 Test series, topping the charts with 593 runs in 10 innings with 2 centuries and the highest score of 149.

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