India vs England 2021: Gautam Gambhir Comments On Virat Kohli's Dismissal In Second Test

Former Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir commented on Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s dismissal by Moeen Ali for a duck in the first innings of the second Test against England. Kohli was cleaned by a beauty from England offie Moeen Ali and many experts felt that it was a poor shot in a pitch that had a lot for the spinners on the first day. Kohli went for a cover drive on a delivery that came into the batsman and disturbed the stumps.

It was a big wicket for the England team as Kohli was getting into his groove in the second innings of the first Test and to get him out for a duck was a huge achievement. In fact, Moeen Ali became the first spinner to dismiss Kohli for a duck and he ended the innings with four wickets to his name despite his high economy rate. Kohli’s shot selection has been a big strength over the years, but it backfired him in this case.

“Virat Kohli Played A Bad Shot” – Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir opined that the Indian skipper played a bad shot against off-spinner bowling in the rough. He added that Kohli paid the price for his poor shot when he had just come to the crease. He told that Kohli should have played with the spin on a turning track and not against the spin.

“Virat Kohli played a bad shot, according to me. Because on such a wicket, if you are playing a drive against an off-spinner who is bowling in the rough, you might have to face the consequences at times,” Gautam Gambhir said on Star Sports.

“A new player who has not yet settled, if he plays a cover drive like that against an off-spinner, when you always say that you should play with the turn on a turning track and not against it, so it was a bad shot, and he had to pay for it,” he added.

Gambhir Explained The Guard Kohli Should Have Taken

Gautam Gambhir explained that Kohli should have preferred the off stump guard to reach the ball and play a cover drive, instead of choosing the middle stump which would have ruled out the LBW option too. He concluded that he did not expect the shot from Kohli on a wicket like that so early.

“If you have to play a shot like that, you can probably stand on the off-stump against an off-spinner because then you reach closer to the ball. If you stand on the middle-stump and give room for the ball to turn, such things can happen. Even it had struck the pad, it would have been outside the off-stump. You don’t play such shots on this wicket so early, and we have not seen Virat Kohli do this often,” Gambhir explained.

The Mumbai Duo of Rohit and Rahane helped India out with a 162 run partnership to take India to a comfortable position on Day 1.