Team India on Sunday went off to a rolling start in the 3-match ODI series against West Indies in Ahmedabad. After opting to bowl, the Rohit Sharma-led side defeated the men in maroon with 6 wickets to lead the series 1-0.
There were several performances that caught the attention of the viewers. The spin duo of Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal made a confident comeback while skipper Rohit punished the West Indies bowling attack with his 44th ODI fifty. However, there was one man who was again in the limelight for his lack of runs – former skipper Virat Kohli.
Struggling to get a century for more than 24 months, Kohli found himself at the receiving end once again while facing the Caribbean bowlers at Motera. He was welcomed with a barrage of short balls from Alzari Joseph upon his arrival at the crease. The former India skipper managed to strike the first two deliveries for boundaries but mistimed the fourth one and ended up getting caught by Kemar Roach at the fine-leg boundary.
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The dismissal not only extended his wait for the 71st international hundred but also allowed the experts to scrutinize him. Former India captain and batting great Sunil Gavaskar spoke about Kohli’s struggle against the short-pitched deliveries, stating that the South African bowlers pulled out the same trick to get rid of him in the ODIs last month.
“I thought that even the South Africans seemed to be looking to do in one-day cricket maybe not so much in Test cricket, to try and bounce Virat Kohli. Because he is one of those batsmen who doesn’t really duck. He loves to play the hook shot, which is one where you cannot really be in control,” Gavaskar told Star Sports Network.
“In this instance, he does not get it right. He picked the ball which bounced a little bit more and then, he anticipated, so it wasn’t quite of the middle of the bat. It went off the edge and the catch was taken. So, I feel he should be prepared to face a little bit more in the remaining matches,” he added.
The second ODI is scheduled to be played on Wednesday while the final game will be held on February 11. Both games will be played at the same venue.
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