"If Virat Kohli was playing he would've.."- Monty Panesar drops colossal verdict

Virat Kohli’s absence is considered one of the key reasons behind England’s win in the first Test in Hyderabad. The visitors won the first Test by 28 runs as India failed to chase 231 in the fourth innings.

The Indian batters without Kohli failed to cope with the pressure of chasing and finally folded up for 202 in the fourth innings. England spinners Jack Leach, Tom Hatrley, and Rehan Ahmed spun their web around the Indian batters. Joe Root played his part with the ball as well. It was Hartley who hurt the Indian team in the second innings picking up 7/62 in the second innings.

Former England spinner Monty Panesar meanwhile said that Rohit Sharma was clueless as Indian captain with his field placements in the second innings adding that the team missed Kohli’s aggressive attitude and intent on the field. The left-arm spinner took 17 wickets from three games when England last won a Test series in India back in 2012.

“It is a very big victory, no one even imagined this was even possible. Everyone thought that England would lose after a 190 deficit but Ollie Pope had a brilliant inning one of the best innings we have seen in a long time and Rohit Sharma was clueless. India need to stop giving the freedom that the England players are getting,” Panesar told ANI.

He further said that had Kohli been a part of the Indian team he would have been at the face of the England players making it as difficult for them to bat in the second innings as possible.

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Virat Kohli Would Have Been In The Faces Of England Players: Monty Panesar

“If Virat Kohli was playing he would have been in the faces of these England players and told them ‘Hey, do it again let’s see how good you are’. This is an England team who are not scared of losing, they don’t scare if they lose. In the next four games, they (England) would still play without the fear of failure,” Panesar said.

Panesar added that India missed Kohli’s presence and intensity in Hyderabad. He further said that the second Test will now become even tougher for the Indian skipper in the absence of Virat Kohli.

“Virat Kohli has that presence and intensity, which is missing currently in the India team. Virat Kohli has that aura and presence. If England win the next Test match then India will be in big trouble. This is a big moment for Rohit Sharma, he needs to show that he can turn around the match without Virat Kohli,” he added.

Heading into the second Test India have added Washington Sundar, Sarfaraz Khan, and Sourabh Kumar as replacements for KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja who are ruled out due to injury concerns. While Jadeja picked up a hamstring injury in the first Test, Rahul complained of right quadriceps pain and will miss the game. India have dropped to the fifth position on the WTC points table.

The second Test in Vizag starts from February 2 with India needing to win the Test match to bring parity in the series. A loss, however, for the Men in Blue will make it almost impossible for them to win the series.

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