Dinesh Karthik noted that superstar Indian batsman Virat Kohli was toppled by an exceptional pitch served by South African bowler Kagiso Rabada. He spoke about this on Day 1 at the on-going Boxing Day Test held at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
Veteran player Karthik explained how Kohli demonstrated fine form while at the batting end. According to him, only an outstanding pitch from Rabada displaced the expert batsman.
While discussing the Kohli-Rabada matchup in the Test series kick-off with Cricbuzz, Karthik said:
“Centurion has been a very happy hunting ground for Kagiso Rabada. The same way, Virat Kohli has some success on Centurion as well and has got a hundred there. So, when the best is up against the best, you got to see what the challenge is all about. It is just not a battle of technique, but the mental battle is as tough as anything else.”
Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik Added:
“Virat Kohli batted really well, weathered the first spell, and when he did come back for his second spell, he did everything he could till he got that nasty one. It was angled in, pitched, and went out. As a batter, all you can do is just play the line, which is what Virat Kohli did, and it ends up taking your edge. There is not too much you can do.”
Dinesh Karthik
India were 23/2 after 9.4 overs when Kohli came out to bat. The former skipper hit 38 runs off 64 deliveries and shared a critical 68-run fourth-wicket stand with Shreyas Iyer to keep the visitors’ ship afloat.
Dinesh Karthik backs Rohit Sharma’s pull shot despite losing his wicket
Rohit Sharma, the captain, was taken out after earning five runs. He was trying to perform a pull shot against Kagiso Rabada’s delivery.
Karthik pointed out the importance of this shot in the experienced player’s strategy. He insisted we shouldn’t condemn him for losing like this.
“You cannot say unlucky, but he is always going to live by the sword and die by the sword when it comes to the pull shot. Today was one that did not go past the rope. We have seen it plenty of times in the last few months where it has gone way beyond the boundary line and has given us a lot of joy. I do not think we can really fault him; it is something that comes to him very instinctively.”
Dinesh Karthik
On Day 1, India continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. KL Rahul was the visitors’ lone warrior, remaining unbroken on 70. The Men in Bue ended the day with a score of 208/8.