IND vs WI: First Ball He Tried Something, Second Ball He Tried Something Else - Aakash Chopra Surprised With Virat Kohli's Display In First ODI

Cricket analyst Aakash Chopra expressed surprise at the manner in which Virat Kohli batted in the first ODI against West Indies. Kohli lasted all of one over and smashed two boundaries before being dismissed by a bouncer

Alzarri Joseph started out with a plan to bounce Kohli out and his first couple of attempts were wayward. He found the radar in the next couple of deliveries and the fifth attempt was all he needed to send Kohli back.

Speaking about the uncharacteristic batting display in a conversation with ESPNcricinfo, Chopra said:

“He came out as if he was in a hurry. The first ball he tried something. The second ball he tried something else. And these are extravagant shots that you don’t associate Kohli with.”

“A wicket has fallen, I’m sure he has been watching the game. He understands chases and the pitches much better than anyone else. He would have understood that the ball is not coming onto the bat that nicely.”

“He’s not exactly in the right frame of mind” – Aakash Chopra

Kohli’s knock was very short but his intent was probably a bit too much on a track that wasn’t true. Although Rohit Sharma made it look easy, a batter out-of-form might find it harder to play on the surface.

“Even though the bounce was low, you could still trust it. Some balls were staying really low and hitting the bottom of the bat. So that four-ball innings was a surprising innings and it perhaps tells you that he’s not exactly in the right frame of mind because technically, you can’t fault a 4-ball inning.”

“So what exactly is going wrong? We saw in South Africa – he scored runs but personally while watching him play, I wasn’t convinced that this is Virat Kohli at his absolute best. But this 4-ball inning tells that he’s not completely mentally there,” Chopra added.

Also Read – Extremely Necessary For India’s Future That Virat Kohli And Rohit Sharma Work In Unison: Saba Karim