|| India Correspondent ||
India captain Virat Kohli has scored another Test half-century against England on Day 3 of the second Test in Chennai on Monday. Kohli brought up his 25th Test fifty – the second of the series - in a tough situation when the other Indian batsmen struggled to score. He showed immense patience and determination and along with R Ashwin, stitched a 96-run partnership to help India take a lead of more than 400.
Kohli's innings impressed many, including the former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar, who applauded Kohli's technique and expressed how he faced the spin beautifully. However, on a surface that is helping spinners, Kohli successfully faced the likes of Jack Leach, Moeen Ali and other spinners.
"He's always had great technique against spinners. He's been very classical, very old fashioned, very copybook where if the ball is pitched right up, he gets onto the front foot. And when he gets onto the front foot, it stretches really long. And he ensures that his backfoot stays inside the crease unlike Rohit Sharma," Manjrekar told on ESPNCricinfo.
"And if the ball is slightly short, where he feels he can't get on to the front foot and get it under hit bat, he rocks back and plays off the backfoot. So he's one of the few modern-day batsman who can play the pull shot against spinners on a turning pitch," he further added.
Notably, in the first innings, Virat Kohli got out for a duck off Ali as the ball went through the 'gate' and hit the top of the off-stump. But Manjrekar pointed out that these dismissals are rare as Kohli has an amazing 'hand-eye' coordination.
"That technique and that understanding of how the ball behaves – you see that with Ashwin as well – so any batsman who has a feel for the ball will make the necessary adjustment. This is something that the academy-taughter, batsmen or who are shaped on bowling machines can struggle a bit, but anybody who’s got a great sense of hand-eye coordination tends to do well on these type of pitches," he concluded.