Virat Kohli Decides Against Enforcing Follow-on Despite 263 Run Cushion. Vettori, Akash Chopra Hail Decision
"It'll make it incredibly difficult for New Zealand to make a comeback. It's almost impossible," said Vettori backing Kohli's decision.
IND Vs NZ 2nd Test: Mohammed Siraj's fiery spell at the beginning of the innings, and then the clean-up job by Ashwin and Axar meant that. New Zealand finished at 62 runs in the first innings. India had a 263 runs lead in the first innings. On another day, some other captain would have gone ahead with enforcing the follow-on, that too on Day 2 of a Test match, but Kohli decided against it and put his batsmen in to bat again.
Questions were raised against this Kohli decision, but, veterans like Daniel Vettori have backed the Indian captain.
"Most captains around the world sort of tend to urge towards not enforcing the follow-on. Mainly to rest bowlers because of managing their workload. However India bowled only 28-29 overs and yes Kohli could've chosen to opt for follow-on and make huge inroads into New Zealand. But he didn't. And I don't think there's anything wrong with it," Vettori said on ESPNCricinfo.
That's Stumps on Day 2 of the 2nd @Paytm #INDvNZ Test in Mumbai!
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A superb show with bat & ball from #TeamIndia! 👏 👏
We will be back for the Day 3 action tomorrow.
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"It'll make it incredibly difficult for New Zealand to make a comeback. It's almost impossible," he added.
"It is not a wrong thing from their perspective. They might bat the entire day tomorrow as well and still, there will be a lot of time left. These are all Test runs, only someone who has scored Test runs, understands their value and if someone has not made a century, it is a lot for him." said Akash Chopra on Star Sports.
India has come to bat again and is 69/0 in the second innings. The lead has gone up to 332 runs and Pujara and Agarwal are at the crease. India might look to bat for the entire day on Day 3 and look to pose a big target for NZ with two days' play remianing.
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