IND vs PAK 2022: "Back foot aggression along with front foot aggression, life might just get better" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Virat Kohli's knock against Pakistan
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar praised Virat Kohli for playing more on the backfoot against Pakistan on Sunday. The former India captain scored 35 runs against the Men in Green a couple of days ago in the Asia Cup 2022 opener at the Dubai International Stadium.
The right-handed batter was rested for the team's tours of the Caribbean and Zimbabwe following a poor series against England. His weakness outside the off-stump was exposed by the England bowlers as he insisted on playing on the front foot against the moving ball.
Opining that the former Indian skipper should balance his aggressive strokeplay on both the front foot and back foot, Manjrekar said on Sports Over The Top:
“I saw that happen in England, but still mostly onto the front foot. There was a catch dropped again on the front foot reaching for the ball. So, if he starts mixing back foot aggression, I'm not saying back foot defence. Back foot aggression along with front foot aggression, life might just get better, and those signs were seen in that innings against Pakistan."
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Dwelling further on the technicalities of Kohli's innings against Pakistan, he added:
"This is what excites me whether he's trying to do anything different. Just getting a little bit technical, before the ball was delivered. On two occasions, he actually had a trigger movement where he went back in the crease, which meant that I think finally somebody's got to him where he is now exploring the back foot play a little more.”
Kohli looked edgy at the start of the innings and even had his catch dropped by Fakhar Zaman in the very first over. The Delhi-born batter slowly found his groove, but failed to convert his start after being dismissed by Mohammad Nawaz midway through the run chase.
"Those are the things that I look for, you know, as an analyst" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Kohli's shots
Kohli lost his wicket in an inconvenient fashion. Expectations were high from the ace batter, with fans and pundits willing him to see the run chase through till the end.
He faced 34 balls to score 35 runs and was far from his best when it came to fluency. In hindsight, though, it was an important knock on a tricky surface against a potent bowling attack.
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Analyzing Kohli's stint at the crease, Manjrekar said:
“A couple of things that I saw which I liked and something that I have not seen him do much before. If you remember he played three pulls in that innings.
"There was one hook that went for six, but there were a couple of pull shots that he played and those are the things that I look for, you know, as an analyst.”
Should Kohli integrate more back foot play into his game? Let us know what you think.