Gautam Gambhir feels experts are overly critical of Virat Kohli at times. Virat Kohli scored 45 off 76 deliveries on Day 1 of the first Test against Sri Lanka.
Playing his 100th Test, Virat Kohli got off the mark with a leading edge over cover while trying to play a Lasith Embuldeniya delivery to the leg side. He was eventually castled by the same bowler five short of a fifty.
![Virat Kohli was bowled by Lasith Embuldeniya in India's first innings of the Mohali Test [P/C: BCCI]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/03/b1540-16464467667798-1920.jpg "Gautam Gambhir Feels Experts Are Overly Critical Of Virat Kohli At Times 2")
Gautam Gambhir: Virat Kohli Was In Absolute Control Before Being Dismissed
During a discussion on Star Sports, former opener Gautam Gambhir was asked about Virat Kohli’s edgy start and the concentration lapse when he seemed set.
Gautam Gambhir responded: “At times we are too critical of Virat Kohli because even if he plays one bad shot, we say lapse in concentration. If you talk about the start, every player is nervous, not only Virat; the greatest players in the world are nervous, especially when you are playing your 100th Test.”
The former India player pointed out that it was an error in reading the length of the delivery that contributed to Virat Kohli’s dismissal.
Gautam Gambhir explained: “Here there was a misjudgment of length. The same deliveries he was playing on the front foot before this, and nothing was happening. He played back, the ball spun a little, and he got beaten, but before that, the sort of batting he did, he was in absolute control.”
Virat Kohli hit five sumptuous boundaries during his innings. However, just when he seemed set for the long haul, he played back to a full delivery that spun across his blade to hit the off-stump. Virat Kohli became the 71st player in the world and 12th Indian to play 100 Tests. Virat Kohli’s journey in international cricket started in 2008 when he was picked to play in an ODI against Sri Lanka in August 2008. He made his Test debut in 2011.
Gautam Gambhir: Virat Kohli Should Have Played Off Front Foot As He Misjudged The Length Of The Ball
Gautam Gambhir was also asked if Virat Kohli was trying to work the ball to the on-side. That’s because the Sri Lankan captain had positioned two fielders at extra cover.
Gautam Gambhir replied: “I don’t think so. I feel if you play a full delivery off the back foot, you give that much time for the delivery to spin. When you play the same ball off the front foot, the ball does not get that much chance to turn.”
The player-turned-commentator reiterated that it was just a misjudgment of length that led to Virat Kohli’s dismissal, elaborating: “If he had been playing on the leg side, the bat’s face might have been more closed. It was not that closed here. If you see the ball, it pitched on the middle stump, and hit the edge of the off-stump, so it did not turn that much. So it was just a misjudgment of length; he should have played this ball off the front foot.”
Virat Kohli might get another chance to end his three-figure drought in India’s second innings. He will hope to accomplish that to get out of the extended lean phase. Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja scored a fine ton to put India in a commanding position on Day 2 of the ongoing first Test.
Ravindra Jadeja scored an unbeaten 175 as India declared their first innings at a mammoth total of 574 for 8 in the first innings against Sri Lanka in the ongoing first Test at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. This was Ravindra Jadeja’s career-best score, and also the highest by an Indian player batting at no. 7.