"He definitely made a mistake in reading length" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli's dismissal in IND vs NZ 2024 2nd Test
Aakash Chopra attributed Virat Kohli's dismissal in India's first innings of the second Test against New Zealand to his inability to read the length of the delivery. He pointed out that the modern batting great doesn't usually play full tosses across the line.
Kohli managed a solitary run off nine deliveries as India were bowled out for 156 on Friday, October 25. New Zealand ended the day at 198/5 in their second innings, with an overall lead of 301 runs.
During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Chopra was asked about his thoughts on Kohli's dismissal.
"He definitely made a mistake in reading length. Drift was spoken about but the second thing is that as soon as a spinner releases the ball, the first thing you need to judge is length because length decides whether you will play the ball forward or back," he responded.
The former India opener added that Kohli attempting to play a full toss towards midwicket implies that he erred in judging length.
"I think it was an error in judgment. Once the ball was released from the hand, whether it drifted in or not, that's a separate issue as to which line you played, but if it was a full toss, we are seeing Virat Kohli for the last 15 years, he doesn't close the face of his bat and hit full tosses over midwicket," Chopra observed.
Kohli played a Mitchell Santner full toss across the line, only to miss the ball and be bowled. His bat seemed to hit the pitch on the downswing, which might have contributed to him missing the ball.
"It is a similar kind of dismissal as he missed such a full delivery" - Aakash Chopra recalls Virat Kohli's dismissal against Mehidy Hasan Miraz
![Virat Kohli fell lbw to Mehidy Hasan Miraz in India's second innings of the first Test against Bangladesh. [P/C: BCCI]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/10/8bfb4-17298599408457-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same discussion, Aakash Chopra noted that Virat Kohli had misjudged the length similarly in the Chennai Test against Bangladesh.
"In fact, if you remember the first match against Bangladesh, it was a very full delivery like this from Mehidy Hasan Miraz, he went to play the flick, got an inside edge, and was given out lbw. It is a similar kind of dismissal as he missed such a full delivery," he recalled.
The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by opining that Kohli would himself acknowledge that he would have better off playing straight.
"If he hadn't been reading the length wrong, he wouldn't be hitting such a full delivery there. He used to hit it straight. If you ask him, he would say that it might have been better had he played straight," Chopra said.
Kohli's dismissal reduced India to 56/3 in their first innings on Friday. They lost their next seven wickets for 100 runs to concede a 103-run lead.