|| India Correspondent ||
Team India have been taking on England in the second Test in Chennai where apart from Rohit Sharma's century and a fifty from Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli's dismissal for a duck was one of the talking points on Day 1 on Saturday. Off-spinner Moeen Ali sent Kohli in for a duck when the Indian captain was trying to go for a cover drive but he failed to reach the pitch of the ball and eventually, the ball hit the stumps. Notably, it was his no. 11 duck in the longer format.
Meanwhile, former India player Sanjay Manjrekar has opened up on Kohli's wicket, citing that Virat Kohli has a self-belief or confidence that 'he can't get out'. His comments came after Kohli refused to leave the pitch despite being out. And, he only left the crease after the third umpire confirmed he was out.
"One of the reasons that he is so great as a batsman is this incredible self-belief. We will never understand a great mind because we’ve never been there so Virat Kohli when he goes to bat has this great sense of confidence that he cannot get out. Even in the second innings, when everyone else was struggling and the pitch was going up in smokes, he got a good 70," Manjrekar said to ESPNCricinfo.
"So, when such things happen, it’s almost like ‘Am I out? How is that possible? Yeah, I missed the ball but am I out?’ There’s such a sturdy layer of confidence. That is something he has to break. Virat Kohli I thought… a great delivery but not to the pitch of the ball as much as he’d have liked," he again shared.
It is also noteworthy that, Kohli became the victim of a spinner for a duck for the first time in Tests. And, it was the fourth time that Ali has dismissed Virat Kohli in Test matches. Meanwhile, Ali's delivery reminded Manjrekar of the legendary Waqar Younis.
"When you look at it again, it’s a great delivery. The angle outside the off stump, then the drift. And that angle is just like how Waqar Younis used to bowl his revers swing. He used to throw it outside the off stump, inducing the batsmen to play the cover drive. It was a fantastic delivery from Moeen Ali. I love Moeen Ali the off spinner and more suited for this kind of a pitch that Dom Bess," Manjrekar concluded