CAPTAIN KOHLI KEEPS INDIA AFLOAT
RECOVERY Skipper’s maiden century in England helps India recover from early batting collapse
149 runs
Virat Kohli’s 22nd Test hundred off 225 balls had 22 boundaries and a six
82 runs
were scored for the last two wickets, with support from Ishant and Umesh
26 runs
was the second best individual score, by Shikhar Dhawan
BIRMINGHAM: Virat Kohli ended a four-year debate about his ability to negotiate swing and seam to win a sensational battle at the personal level and for his team on a dramatic second day of the Edgbaston Test on Thursday.
England had been put up as the India skipper’s final frontier after his failures on his first tour to a country where seaming conditions make life difficult even for the most experienced.
On a day when India’s other batsmen didn’t show spine as they caved in against rookie leftarm pacer, Sam Curran, Ben Stokes and James Anderson, Kohli showed what sheer determination and class can achieve.
He won a monumental battle against Anderson after Curran and Stokes had run through India’s top and middle order.
Kohli hit a magnificent 149 (225 balls, 22x4, 1x6) before being the last man out, as India trailed by just 13 runs on the first innings after being bowled out for 274 in the final 30 minutes of the day.
It was a sensational tussle as Anderson bowled 15 overs, separated only by lunch and one over by leg-spinner Adil Rashid. In that phase, he faced 43 deliveries from the pace bowler, played only two scoring shots.
He powered on once Anderson was off the attack, racing from a 100-ball fifty to his 22nd century off only 122 deliveries, a masterclass that was given a standing applause by the sizeable crowd. Kohli gave a full-throated cry in relief and triumph on reaching the landmark.
England though would rue dropping Kohli on 21, off Anderson, and on 51, off Stokes with second slip Dawid Malan the culprit on both occasions.
The innings was remarkable as India’s other batsmen showed no spine despite the pitch hardly being spiteful like the ones in the early part of the summer or elsewhere in the country. Murali Vijay (20) and Shikhar Dhawan (26) put together 50 runs for the first wicket, but once the former was trapped leg before by Curran – England got it reviewed – the left-armer was on a roll.
KL Rahul was bowled second delivery playing away from the body to reduce India to 76/3 at lunch. Stokes gave Ajinkya Rahane a torrid time before forcing him to edge and bowled Dinesh Karthik.
Kohli found support in Hardik Pandya (22) in a 48-run stand. England dropped Pandya after Kohli’s let off on 21, and the skipper made the hosts pay.