ENG vs IND: Team India Needs Virat Kohli To Really Fire And Play A Defining Knock: Wasim Jaffer

The last time India played a Test match at Edgbaston, Virat Kohli displayed his brilliance by leading his team to a total of 274 runs by scoring 149 runs off 225 balls in the first innings.

Even though India lost the series 4-1, it was the series opener that demonstrated Kohli’s standing as the top batter at the time across all forms.

When India plays England in the fifth Test that was postponed on Friday, it would be the first Test match played there since that time. In that time, a lot has changed for Kohli. He is no longer the captain of the Indian squad, and it has been more than three years since he last recorded a century in any format.

Virat Kohli Needs To Fire At All Costs In This Test Match: Wasim Jaffer

KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, India’s starting players, are absent from the match. In actuality, only Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara are participating in the fifth Test among the prominent Indian batsmen who took part in the 2018 series in England. Wasim Jaffer, a former India opener, stated that Kohli must do well in this game because of this.

“If at all the team needs a big score from Kohli, it would be now. It is an inexperienced batting lineup and he is somebody who needs runs very badly. He has come after a break. So you are hoping that he turns it around, will be mentally fresh,” said Jaffer on ESPNCricinfo.

Jaffer claimed that while at his best, Kohli would assist India in regaining momentum whenever players like Pujara and Rahane failed to deliver. Pujara did not participate in the Edgbaston Test of 2018 while Rahane got out for 15. In actuality, opener Shikhar Dhawan’s 26 was the highest score after Kohli’s 149.

“In this Test match, more than any other time, the Indian team needs Virat Kohli to really fire and play a defining knock. Many a times we have seen that when Ajinkya Rahane or Cheteshwar Pujara haven’t stood up, he has covered it up.

“But I think more than any other time, India needs him in this series-defining Test match,” said Jaffer.

Kohli is currently batting on 1 after India lost both their openers.

Also Read: ENG vs IND: Watch – Cheteshwar Pujara Falls To James Anderson, Edges An Outswinger To Slips