IND vs WI: It Seemed Like Virat Kohli Was In A Lot Of Haste: Saba Karim On Indian Batter's Dismissal

Former India national selector Saba Karim said Virat Kohli was playing his innings in haste against West Indies in the first ODI.

On Sunday, India won defeated West Indies by six wickets in the first of the three ODI matches at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

India beat West Indies by six wickets in their 1000th ODI match

Rohit Sharma, who was leading India in their 1000th ODI match, won the toss and asked the visitors to bat first.

Indian spin bowlers Yuzvendra Chahal (4/49) and Washington Sundar (3/30) bowled excellently to dismantle the opposition’s batting order. The visitors were bowled out at 176 after all-rounder Jason Holder led their resistance in the end of their innings.

Rohit Sharma led the charge with the bat as he scored 60 from 51 balls before he was trapped before the wicket by Alzarri Joseph in the 14th over.

Kohli was right in a attacking mode against Joseph as he slammed two boundaries on the first two balls he faced. Joseph came back with a short delivery on the stumps, the Indian batter attempted to pull it but found the top-edge that went to Kemar Roach at fine leg.

Clarity and the focus were missing from Virat Kohli: Saba Karim

Karim said Joseph had already planned to bowl the short ball and Kohli missed his focus while responding to it.

“Only Virat Kohli knows what is best for him. He knows what his state of mind is or is he able to plan like before. If he feels like it, he can take a break but I don’t think Kohli needs a break. Usually, you can see the clarity in Kohli’s batting right away, in the way which he approaches. It seemed like he was in a lot of haste, couldn’t see his usual planning,” Karim said on Khelneeti Podcasts.

“It has been a while since I’ve seen him get out to a short ball. Alzarri Joseph clearly planned it, all he bowled was short deliveries. The clarity and the focus were missing from Kohli,” he added.

India chased the target in 28 overs with Suryakumar Yadav (34) and debutant Deepak Hooda (26) completing the job.

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