Former England captain Nasser Hussain credited Virat Kohli for his impeachable batting display in the first test but questioned his captaincy saying that he should take the responsibility of the 31 run loss.
He should take some responsibility- Hussain
“Kohli was phenomenal in this game. He deserved to be on the winning side for the way he played with the tail. He singlehandedly brought India back into the Test match. I do think he should take some of the responsibility for the loss, though,” Hussain told Sky Sports.
“England were 87-7 with Curran and Adil Rashid at the crease and for some reason Ravichandran Ashwin went out of the game for an hour. India lost control then – he needs to look back on his captaincy and say ‘when I’ve got a bloke who averages 19 against left-handers and a 20-year-old left-hander on strike, why did I take him off?,” Hussain quizzed.
Kohli’s masterclass
Indian captain put up a phenomenal batting display in the first innings despite tumbling wickets from other end. He formed partnerships with lower order batsman to notch up his maiden test ton in England. He went on to score 149 runs and took the Indian total to 274.
In the second innings, Virat was the lone fighter for India and scored 51 runs that were not enough to take his side home.
Praises for Joe Root
“The pitch has a lot to do with that – it wasn’t a flat belter – and so have the players. The standard of bowling and captaincy (has been great). I think Joe Root has been outstanding in this game.
“A lot of times nowadays we see one side get ahead in Test matches and series and then the other doesn’t seem capable of fighting back. This match has switched one way and then the other.”
Hussain feels the use of Dukes ball add to the excitement of test cricket
“The template for Test cricket has been set and I don’t see why the ICC can’t just use the Dukes ball around the world. It produces exciting cricket, so why don’t the ICC go down that road?,” Hussain said.
Praising the all-round ability of Sam Curran
“He has won England this game. India might say Kohli got 200 runs but who turned this game around? A 20-year-old. It’s a phenomenal achievement. He changed the course of two innings. He came on with India 50-0 and pitched it up, swung it and got four for nothing and he then went in with England 87-7.
“After his first game you thought he was maybe a bits-and-pieces cricketer and wondered whether he was quick enough, could move it enough and if he was a proper batsman. I always used to say ‘pick someone on their character more than what they are showing in county cricket’. He has character in abundance,” Hussain said
