Virat Kohli, India’s former captain, has now gone more than 70 innings without his 71st international hundred, since that phenomenal 136 against Bangladesh in India’s historic Pink Ball Test in Kolkata in November 2019,
With yet another Pink Ball Test in the fray and this time in Bengaluru, the eagerness for fans to see the end of the long drought has increased. However, former Indian all-rounder Madan Lal feels that the drought must have been playing in his head and that he must have felt the pressure of it. Virat Kohli scored 23 in the 1st innings of the 2nd Test.
Virat Kohli Is Lacking Concentration: Madan Lal
Speaking on the knock in the first Test where he scored 45, while in conversation, Madan Lal said that Virat Kohli had lacked concentration and questioned the logic behind him playing that wicket delivery on his backfoot.
“I watched his batting. I feel somewhere he is lacking his concentration. Question was, why did he go on backfoot? Might have been a mental block. But his batting was very positive. He started getting runs as soon as he came to the crease. But definitely he is capable,” he said.
Like most of his previous innings during this streak, Virat Kohli looked well set on Day 1 of the Mohali Test against Sri Lanka last week. It was the 33-year-old’s 100th appearance in the format, but he was eventually stunned by left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya as he was dismissed for 45.
Madan Lal Feels Virat Kohli Will Get An Advantage In The 2nd Test As Bangalore Pitch Offers Bounce
The 1983 World Cup-winning player feels that Virat Kohli will feel more pressure the longer he takes to reach that elusive 71st century, but admitted that the Bengaluru conditions favour the batter.
“We all want him to get out of this (century drought). I’m sure it must have been playing in his head. And one more thing, the more number of innings it takes to reach his next hundred, the more the pressure will be on him. In Bengaluru he will get one advantage which is that the pitch offers bounce and hence he might play better,” he added.
The Pink Ball Test began from March 12 onwards. It was India’s third Day-Night Test at home, with the team having won both their previous games. India did not get off to a great start as a mix-up between Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal saw Mayank Agarwal(4) heading back to the pavilion.
Rohit Sharma (15) did look good but the story was completely different once the spinners were introduced into the attack. Virat Kohli and Hanuma Vihari steadied the ship for a while after the skipper perished but a wicket was always around the corner. Both Virat Kohli (23) and Hanuma Vihari (31) were sent back. Rishabh Pant -34* and Shreyas Iyer-2* are batting at the moment as India reached 112/4.