Virat Kohli has always been one of the best batters in the world. However, the former Indian captain is struggling with the bat, of late, especially in red ball cricket. It is also largely due to the lack of match practice and not playing too many matches.
The 35-year-old came into the first Test match against Bangladesh in Chennai on the back of a poor three-match ODI series with the bat in Sri Lanka, where he struggled against spin. Kohli also did not play in the five-match Test series against England at home at the start of the year. So, he was playing Test cricket after a gap of close to one year.
The star batter scored 6 and 17 runs in the first and second innings of the first Test match in Chennai, respectively. Although, India won the first Test comprehensively, there are concerns over the form of India’s main batter.
India is slated to play against Bangladesh in the second Test in Kanpur starting from September 26. India will then face New Zealand in a 3-match home Test series, followed by a five-match Test series in Australia. So, the form of Kohli is very important for the success of Team India.
Virat Kohli struggled badly against pacers and spinners in the nets
However, Kohli struggled in the nets ahead of the second Test match in Kanpur. As per a report by Indian Express, Kohli had problems facing the 15-ball spell of Jasprit Bumrah. He did hit some confident shots against Bumrah, but the fast bowler came back strongly, beating Kohli and nicking him. He also trapped Kohli on the pads and said “saamne laga hai (You are plumb).”
Bumrah went on tease him more by saying, “Aakhiri wala toh short leg ka catch tha (The last one would have been caught at short leg).” Kohli responded with a sly grin as he knew that Bumrah was troubling him.
Kohli then played against the spin trio of Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja. He, apparently, struggled to time the shots well and missed inside out shots on three occasions.
Meanwhile, the second Test is scheduled to take place from 27th September to 1st October 2024 in Kanpur.
