If He Gets Going He Takes Down Any Left-Arm Spinner - Dinesh Karthik Feels Virat Kohli Made A Mistake By Bowling Krunal Pandya Early To Ben Stokes

Senior India wicket-batsman, Dinesh Karthik opines that Virat Kohli’s decision during the second ODI to bowl Krunal Pandya to Ben Stokes early in his innings wasn’t a wise one. Dinesh Karthik reckons that the match-up of Krunal ‘s left-arm off-spin worked in favor of left-handed Stokes, and he took full advantage of it.

Out of the 20 sixes England hit in their innings, 10 came off the bat of Ben Stokes in his 99-run knock from 52 balls; all 10 maximums came against the spinners Krunal Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav.

Dinesh Karthik points out that when Ben Stokes arrived at the crease in the 17th over – after Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow had put on a consecutive hundred opening stand – Krunal hadn’t bowled a single over. But was given the ball by Kohli straightaway. In Pandya’s second over, Stokes hit his first six; carnage ensued as he went on to hit 9 more to the two spinners.

“When Ben Stokes walked in, Krunal Pandya hadn’t bowled. He had just come onto bowl. I felt at that stage maybe Shardul Thakur (could have bowled) an over, because he has this ability to pick up wickets. But then he (Virat Kohli) went for Krunal Pandya. The matchup is such that if Ben Stokes gets going, forget Krunal, any left-arm spinner in the world, he takes them down,” Dinesh Karthik said while speaking on Sky Sports.

“It was one of those days where it was hard to stop Stokes. Almost every shot he played he was looking to hit a six. Just the way he set up before the ball was bowled, you knew the intent was to go for the big one,” he added.

Kuldeep needs to buck up and do the best he can in the next couple of months: Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik, who plays with Kuldeep Yadav in the IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders, feels extremely sorry as the chinaman not only went wicketless for the second ODI in a row but was carted all around the ground by the English batters. Karthik wishes that Kuldeep gains back his form in the IPL as his career is in a downward spiral since the World Cup a couple of years ago.

“Kuldeep personally, the poor guy has had a tough time. He has been sitting out for a long time. He comes in, he has had a couple of games here, but it has really not gone his way.”

“But these things happen to international cricketers. He needs to chin up, get stronger. He has got a couple of very important months. Not only in his white-ball career but also for his red-ball career in the form of IPL. He needs to buck up and do the best he can in the next couple of months,” the former KKR skipper stated.

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