Former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth has framed Virat Kohli’s 74 in the first ODI against New Zealand in Auckland as a lesson in how to bat when the pitch is misbehaving, arguing that the surface caused problems for both teams while Kohli worked through it without apparent strain. The former India captain made the point while reviewing India’s five-wicket win over New Zealand in the series opener.
Kohli’s 74 came off 51 balls with 13 fours and a six, on the eve of his 38th birthday. He walked out in the second over and put on 113 with Shubman Gill, who made 37.
Talking about Kohli’s performance, Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel, Cheeky Cheeka:
“Everyone from both teams was dancing on that wicket, and here he is playing effortlessly. They gave him nothing outside the off-stump and tried to pepper him with short deliveries. But he pulled them so easily and was in total control. He was just toying with the bowlers.”
Jacob Duffy eventually had him caught at deep square leg with a shorter ball he could not middle, but India were already well clear and finished on 143 for 5 in 22.4 overs, chasing a Duckworth-Lewis-Stern target of 143 in 32 overs. It was Kohli’s 80th ODI fifty, and the innings took him past Sachin Tendulkar as the highest run-scorer in ODI chases.
Srikkanth hails Anshul Kamboj and India’s bowlers
The second half of Kris Srikkanth’s praise belonged to the Indian bowling, and to Anshul Kamboj in particular. The 25-year-old from Karnal, playing only his second ODI, finished with 2 for 22 from 10 overs, two of them maidens, with 46 dot balls and an economy rate of 2.20.
He bowled Mitchell Santner for 4 and had Nathan Smith caught by Kohli at second slip for 1, and he was named player of the match.
“Kamboj made an excellent comeback. And it’s also great for CSK because if he develops into a good opening bowler, it’s very useful. His pace is a bit low, but he’ll evolve in that once he gains confidence. To make New Zealand jump in their own conditions was a brilliant job by all the Indian bowlers,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
Kamboj’s comeback was from his ODI debut against West Indies at Mullanpur last month, when he conceded 82 in nine overs without a wicket. He had support. Arshdeep Singh took 4 for 70, 19 of them in a final over that Tickner attacked, and Gurnoor Brar took 3 for 44
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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran
