If India win the toss, Virat Kohli can also score 250: Ashish Nehra
Former India pace bowler Ashish Nehra feels the toss played a big role in the Chennai Test.
He further claimed that Virat Kohli could also score 250 if India win the toss.
India lost the first Test to England by 227 runs, with England skipper Joe Root scoring 218 in the first innings.
Chasing a mammoth 420 for victory, India were bowled out for 192. Virat Kohli waged a lone battle with a 72-run knock in the second innings.
Speaking to Star Sports following India’s defeat, Nehra expressed confidence that Virat Kohli will break his century drought soon (Kohli did not score a single century in 2020). He stated:
“You are talking about one or two centuries, I would say when India wins the toss, he will score 250 also.”
Praising Virat Kohli for his fighting half-century on Day 5 of the first Test, Nehra added that the Indian captain did not throw his wicket away even as the chase was clearly a lost cause.
"This is the special thing about Virat Kohli. When Ashwin got out, he knew that they will lose the match but he did not play any airy-fairy shots. He takes pride in scoring his own runs, that he should not get out. Anyone would have got out to the ball he was dismissed, it kept extremely low.
"He kept at it which you need to do on the fourth and fifth days on a subcontinent pitch. The desire makes this player different from others and it is not only here, when he couldn't score runs in England, very few people would have seen Virat Kohli lunging forward to play the defensive shots. To do that, you need the fitness.”
Virat Kohli blames defeat on lack of application
Following the loss in the first Test, Indian captain Virat Kohli lamented the lack of application from the team in both the batting and bowling departments in the first innings.
At the post-match conference, Virat Kohli admitted:
“I think the Test probably shifted in their favour when we batted in the first innings. I don't think there was enough application shown by us as a batting unit. As a bowling unit, we did not bowl well collectively. The pacers and Ashwin bowled in good areas. But if [Shahbaz] Nadeem and Washi [Sundar] were equally economical, there would have been more pressure on England.”
Virat Kohli also backed vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane to come good despite his poor showing in the first Test. The second Test starts in Chennai on February 13.