ENG vs IND 2018, First Test: Virat Kohli Showed Terrific Discipline: Sanjay Bangar
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India batting coach Sanjay Bangar waxed lyrical about Virat Kohli’s stunning hundred on Day 2 of the Edgbaston Test.
India were in deep trouble when Kohli walked out to bat. The visitors were reeling at 54 for 2 and soon found themselves 3 down for just 59. Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane then stopped the rot for a while before Ben Stokes struck twice. The allrounder dismissed Rahane and Dinesh Karthik in quick succession to leave India reeling at 100 for 5.
However, Kohli held firm from one end and played one of his best Test knocks to bail India out of trouble. The India skipper scored a majestic ton to help India recover from 100 for 5 to post 274 in reply to England’s 287. It was not the trademark Kohli knock that would have contained gorgeous drives and cuts. But it was a knock that Kohli is surely going to cherish for a long long time.
Kohli kept his stroke-play at the back seat and played the waiting game to excel in the testing conditions. He was patient and treated the bowlers with great respect. He left the balls outside off and scored only when the opportunity came.
Despite wickets falling from one end, he kept his cool and forged important partnerships with the lower-order to reach his first Test ton in England. He became the last Indian wicket to fall after scoring a stunning 149.
Speaking after the day’s play, Bangar lavished praise on the skipper as he lauded him for his remarkable discipline.
“He showed terrific discipline I felt. At no instance did he reach out for the ball, and probably couple of our other batsmen reached out, which caused their downfall. But that is something which we’ve been speaking of, practicing quite a lot. And on days, these things come off and on certain days those things don’t come out as a batter. Definitely the batsmen are aware and are taking all efforts to correct the errors,” said Bangar.
“He’s a versatile player. At times, quality players keep on assessing their own games and where they want to progress. The awareness that is required under certain conditions, but he does that really well. Again, terrific discipline. When he bats in that fashion, he more often than not gets the team into good positions. Passing an individual landmark doesn’t mean much to him, more than that, if it’s good day for him, he makes sure it’s a great day for him and the team. That’s why he got 149 and it narrowed down the gap beautifully,” he added.
