Team India faced a shocking 113-run defeat against New Zealand in the second Test in Pune. This loss turned out to be a historic one as New Zealand gained an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series and ended India’s 12-year-old winning streak at home in Test cricket. In the second Test, India needed 359 runs to win but they got bundled out for 245 as the Kiwi spinner Mitchell Santner wreaked havoc with his six-wicket haul. Apart from this loss, another major concern for Rohit Sharma and co is the poor form of star batter Virat Kohli.
In the two Tests, the 35-year-old batter miserably failed to leave a mark, despite playing a knock of 70 runs in the first Test. In the second match, Kohli got dismissed by Santner for 1 and 17, exposing his struggles against left-arm spinners.
Kohli has been receiving criticism from the fans and cricket experts for his abysmal show. Former India star Dinesh Karthik that Kohli’s struggle against spin is not new and he needs to work on it.
“Virat Kohli has not had it easy, the series has not been good to him, three out of four innings, he has disappointed. It’s obviously a recurring partner where spinners have troubled him, and I think he will go and figure out what he needs to do to come out stronger,” said Karthik on Cricbuzz.
“He is a man, who is searching for answers. When you reach that level of genius and super stardom, you will be thrown challenges and here is another challenge. India likes to play on pitches that aids spin, what is his game plan?” he added.
Many experts have suggested that in order to regain his form, Kohli should play domestic cricket. Karthik also agreed with the suggestion.
“We all know what he is capable of, this series was not meant to be. Like the fans have been saying, he has not done it for a long time, and that we cannot run away from it. We don’t want to sugarcoat it because we want to be as objective in assessing any player, any performance, at the moment Virat Kohli’s Test record in the last 2-3 years, has not been great against spin,” he said.
“What we needs to do, is probably go back to domestic cricket and focus on what needs to be done with the current rules of DRS. There is no doubt the left-arm spinners pose a big threat,” he added.
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