“Virat Kohli will rekindle that fire in every person” - Dinesh Karthik backs Team India bowlers to put up fiery show at The Oval
Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has hailed Virat Kohli’s passionate captaincy in the ongoing Test series against England. He expressed confidence that the visitors will go all out with the ball as they attempt to clean up the hosts and take the lead in the five-match series.
Team India batted with purpose on Day 4 of the Oval Test. They extended their innings from 270 for 3 to 446, setting England an improbable target of 368.
Taking to Twitter, Karthik opined that although the pitch is benign, Kohli is capable of inspiring the team with his feisty attitude. He lauded the Indian captain for inspiring the side at Lord’s and expected Kohli to lift his troops in the field at The Oval as well.
Karthik wrote in praise of Kohli on Twitter:
“The beauty of Virat's captaincy in this series has been the COMBAT ZONE mentality he got the team into after the inspirational partnership from Bumrah and Shami. In the 4th innings when they bowl at the oval, I'm sure he will rekindle that same FIRE in every person in the team!.”
India were behind the game going into Day 5 at Lord’s. However, a brilliant partnership between Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami turned the tide. Before India went in to bowl, Kohli got his men into a huddle and gave a pep talk. According to some experts, this fired up the Indians, particularly after some heated on-field exchanges with England players.
“Don't expect someone of Kohli’s quality to miss out so often after getting to 30s and 40s” - Laxman
Earlier in the day, Kohli was again dismissed after getting a start. He looked good for his 44 before edging Moeen Ali to slip.
Analyzing Kohli’s inability to convert starts, VVS Laxman admitted in an interaction on ESPN Cricinfo that the batter will be most disappointed with the trend. Laxman said:
"The way he was batting, he was looking all set to get that big score, which we were anticipating from Virat Kohli. But again, he got out against the run of play.You want players of the caliber of Kohli to convert those starts into big hundreds, which he has done in the past. Don't expect someone of Kohli’s quality to miss out so often after getting to 30s and 40s. This is something that will frustrate Virat Kohli."
Following Kohli’s dismissal, Rishabh Pant (50) and Shardul Thakur (60) added 100 for the seventh wicket to put India in command again.
Chasing 368, England reached 37 for no loss after 14 overs.