Virat Kohli’s mix up with Ajinkya Rahane was the game-changing moment for India in the first innings of the ongoing pink-ball Test match against Australia. Rahane pushed the last ball of the 77th over to the left of mid-off and started to run. Kohli trusted him and without watching the fielder responded immediately. But Rahane then bailed out, leaving his captain stranded in the middle of the pitch.
Nathan Lyon, who was at the bowler’s end, took the bails off and the skipper departed for 74 runs after facing 180 balls. The host was gifted the wicket of Team India captain.
Cricket boffins have stated that the run out of Virat Kohli might put Ajinkya Rahane under guilt mood, who is set to lead India in the last three Test matches in the absence of Kohli.
However, former Indian pacer Atul Wassan has given it a different angle. He believes that it will push the captain to get his incompleted-century in the second inning of the pink-ball Test. Kohli hasn’t scored a hundred across all the formats this year, which is a rare sight.
Wassan believes that the Indian captain will be hungry to add hundred in the ongoing Test match, which will be his last international cricket of this year.
“I think there this might favour India. Virat Kohli has so much hunger for scoring runs that he might just be more determined to score one in the second innings. If he had got his ton in the first innings then his hunger for a hundred might have been satisfied. If India have to win this match then Kohli’s ton in 2nd innings will be more valuable,” Wassan told ABP News.
The door opened for Australia after Virat Kohli’s wicket: Atul Wasan
Wassan, who represented India in 4 Tests and 9 ODIs, stated that Rahane could have considered sacrificing his wicket although he acknowledged that the vice-captain hasn’t given his captain’s wicket intentionally.
“I think the door opened for Australia (after Kohli’s run out). Nobody does it intentionally but the fact is when you drop a catch, you can also lose a match. I’m not saying Rahane did it on purpose, nobody does that but he made two mistakes. The first was to call for the single and then he didn’t calculate that Kohli can take this forward better than him. He returned to his crease instead of sacrificing his wicket,” added Wassan.
After Virat Kohli’s wicket, India consecutively lost the wicket of middle-order and lower-order was bowled out in the first session of the second day in Adelaide. The visitors have scored 244 runs in their first innings and are looking to bundle out Australia in their first innings.