IND vs. ENG 2021: "Virat Kohli got a good delivery before he could get set" - Zaheer Khan analyses Indian skipper's golden duck
Former left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan hailed James Anderson for bowling an excellent first delivery to Team India skipper Virat Kohli, sending him back for a golden duck.
According to Zaheer, Anderson’s spell brought England back in the game at a time when Team India seemed to be dominating the contest.
Anderson had Cheteshwar Pujara (4), and Kohli (0) caught behind off consecutive deliveries to swing the momentum of the game. Ajinkya Rahane (5) then ran himself out as Team India went from 97 for no loss to 112 for 4.
In an interaction on Cricbuzz, Zaheer stated that Anderson has clearly won the opening battle with Kohli, and it’s now up to the Indian captain to respond to the challenge.
"Virat Kohli got a good delivery before he could get set although it must be said the ball was a bit outside the off-stump. Virat Kohli dominated Anderson in 2018. In this series, Anderson has struck the first blow. It would be interesting to see how Kohli responds. The ball that Cheteshwar Pujara got was right on the stumps and there was little he could do as he had to play at the delivery.
"The tone has been set and it seems like wickets are falling in a cluster in this Test, so any batsman who gets set must ensure that he bats for as long as possible. We saw in England’s innings as well that when a wicket fell, 2-3 more followed quickly. Any new batsman going in will have to focus extremely hard on preserving his wicket.”
Praising Anderson, the former India pacer added that, despite his age, the England legend remains an impact bowler.
"James Anderson is an impact bowler who can change the momentum of the game in one spell. Even at his age, Anderson is able to produce such performances. He didn't give away any runs either and it is because of him that England are back in the game."
Team India’s middle-order needs to start capitalizing on openers’ starts
One of the major worries for Team India going into the Nottingham Test was the lackadaisical form of their middle-order.
The woes continued as Kohli, Pujara and Rahane again fell cheaply. Since the start of 2020, the trio is averaging under 30 and has only one Test hundred among them.
Admitting that the lack of runs from the middle-order is a matter of worry, Zaheer reckoned:
"These Indian batsmen should be disappointed with their performances. They have been known to produce match-winning knocks and have played together for a long time. For years, India didn’t need to ponder upon Nos 3,4 and 5 while selecting the Test team.
"Yes, their numbers in the last couple of years have gone down. I am sure the players and the team management will be aware of the same. It is the middle-order’s responsibility to capitalise on the good start provided by the openers."
Team India was 125 for 4 in the 47th over when bad light and subsequent rain halted play.