Virat Kohli has already faced more balls and scored more runs than he did in 2014 in the entire series and the first Test match has not even ended. For it to End in India’s favour, Kohli needs to bat longer.
After carrying the Indian innings on his shoulders in the first innings with a superlative 149, Kohli again finds himself in a similar situation, this time with the match on the line. India need 84 more runs with five wickets in hand. The Indian captain is unbeaten on 43 with wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik (18*) for company.
For the matter, Kohli has looked more at ease in the second innings. His footwork was decisive; he left well and played with softer hands. More importantly, he timed his cover drives to perfection, which took him a lot of time in the first innings.
The Indian captain drove Sam Curran through the vacant cover region twice in two overs.
Driving in English conditions against the swinging ball is not the easiest thing to do but then again, Virat Kohli is no ordinary batsman and on Saturday he has to prove that again if India want to take the early lead in the five-match Test series.