Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra feels that prolific Indian batter Virat Kohli gave himself a good amount of time on the pitch to score big runs in the 1st innings of the 1st test in West Indies and feels that the Indian team is comfortably placed at the end of the Day 2’s play.
Young opener Shubman Gill moved down the batting order in place of the experienced Cheteshwar Pujara but the promising youngster could not make an impact for the team in the 1st innings. The Indian youngster has been in fantastic form in International cricket this year, with an average of over 60 across three formats, including five centuries in 18 matches but was dismissed for six runs.
Speaking on his youtube channel, Aakash Chopra feels that Shubman Gill played with hard hands in the 1st innings, which lead to his dismissal, and feels that he needs to play more games to gain experience playing at this level and added that Virat Kohli took some time to settle down in the middle as the West Indies found no clue to India’s batting.
“Shubman Gill came at No. 3. It is difficult and he will realize that. He has played the majority of his innings in first-class cricket as an opener. He came at No. 3 here after a huge partnership. He plays with slightly hard hands. So his method of defending with hard hands, he will have to change it slightly as he plays more in Test matches,” Aakash Chopra said.
“Virat Kohli came after that. He is giving himself time. The opposition team is also looking extremely flat. They have used nine bowlers and didn’t take the second new ball until 100 overs. Virat Kohli is now looking good. He has not yet reached his fifty, so the small milestone is also left,” Chopra stated.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli will look to continue their fine form in the 1st innings as the Indian team will look to post a massive total in the 1st innings of the 1st test of the two-match test series.
It Is Difficult To Score Runs Quickly On This Pitch – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra believes that the Indian team has gone so far ahead in the game, as they are well on top of the West Indies team in the 1st team, and reckons that the pitch is on the slower side which makes the run-scoring a difficult one for the Indian team.
“India has gone far ahead. They are 162 runs ahead and are going slightly slow because the pitch is extremely slow. It is difficult to score runs quickly on this pitch but batting can be done, it is possible to stand here,” Aakash Chopra added.
At the end of Day 2, the India team is comfortably placed at 312-2 at the end of the Day 2 play and they will look to put some fine performance in the next three days to win the game on the away soil.