"He kept his ego aside" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli's knock in 1st India vs West Indies Test
Aakash Chopra has lauded Virat Kohli for keeping his ego aside and playing a dogged knock in the first Test between India and the West Indies.
Kohli scored 76 runs off 182 deliveries as India declared their first innings at 421/5 in Roseau on Friday, July 14, Their bowlers then bundled out the hosts for 130 in their second innings as Rohit Sharma and Co. registered an innings and 141-run win and took a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra reflected on India's Day 3 batting effort. He heaped praise on Kohli, saying:
"Virat played in a very different fashion. He hit his first four after 80 balls and celebrated it as well. The biggest thing about this knock was that he kept his ego aside."
The former Indian opener highlighted that the modern batting great's willingness to mold his game according to the conditions sets him apart:
"We might celebrate him as the king of world cricket but if the pitch is not like that and if you feel that you won't get fours that easily, he says - 'No problem, I will wait'. This thing always makes this player special."
However, Chopra observed that Kohli couldn't score a century despite getting two lives. He added that Indian fans will have to wait for one more match at least for him to end his almost five-year drought of an overseas Test century.
"He understands the game's tempo and knows how to go along with it" - Aakash Chopra praises Yashasvi Jaiswal
![Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 171 runs off 387 balls. [P/C: Twitter]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/07/7f822-16894038735187-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra also praised Yashasvi Jaiswal for pacing his innings perfectly, elaborating:
"We expected Yashasvi to score a double hundred because he is that sort of a player. In this entire innings, he showed that he understands the game's tempo and knows how to go along with it, when to accelerate and when to hold himself back."
While citing Prithvi Shaw's example, the cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that the left-handed opener needs to continue the good work:
"Prithvi Shaw also scored a century against this team on his debut. That match was in India, this was in Dominica. The conditions were not like India but weren't too dissimilar either. So he will have to move forward from this because this is just the start."
Chopra wasn't surprised by Ajinkya Rahane's cheap dismissal, highlighting the pitch was not to his liking. He also questioned whether Ishan Kishan could have been sent ahead of Ravindra Jadeja to give him more time in the middle.