Virat Kohli was in the middle of fine tuning his batting skills after stumps on Day 1 of the 2nd Test between India and New Zealand when head coach Gautam Gambhir briefly interrupted the batting star’s drills because of something funny he wanted to share. New Zealand threatened to drive themselves in a position of advantage on Thursday with Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway hitting half-centuries, but a strong comeback by the Indian bowlers, led by Washington Sundar’s career-best figures of 7/59 and Ravichandran Ashwin’s 3/64 forced the tide in another direction altogether.
The Pune surface was expected to assist spin and India would be delighted knowing it’s come to their aid as early as Day 1. However, towards the end of the day, which saw India finish on 16/1, the eyes of the rest of the Indian batters were left wide open considering the amount of spin there was for Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner. New Zealand’s left-arm spin duo got the ball to grip and turn sharply waking up not only India’s overnight pair of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal but also Kohli, who was ready to face the music if need be. Thankfully, he didn’t need to come out today, but Kohli is fully aware that Friday promises to present him a stern test.
Kohli has often found himself guilty of getting out to finger spinners – be it off spinners or left-arm spinners. He looked like a million bucks batting in the second innings of the Bengaluru Test but eventually fell to the part-time spin of Glenn Phillips on the last ball of the day. Hence, to avoid any such repetition, Kohli was part of some casual knocking soon after stumps were drawn on Day 1. Padded up and in whites, Kohli charged onto the field and took some throw downs – it was no net session – even as experts Anil Kumble and Simon Doull were going about their assessment of the match.
As the camera panned towards Kohli taking a few knocks, he suddenly paused, turned his head and broke into a smile. As it turns out, the next frame showed India head coach Gambhir and Kohli walking towards each other as the new best buddies in town broke into a hearty laughter. Kohli and Gambhir shared what seemed like an inside joke before resuming proceedings. Gambhir went back to what he was doing while Kohli faced more deliveries.
Virat Kohli the entertainer
This wasn’t the only entertainment Kohli was part of. Minutes before, as India were rocked by the wicket of Rohit Sharma, Kohli sat in the dressing room padded up, but as was Akash Deep. Perhaps realising that India may need a nightwatchman to see them through the end of the day’s play if another wicket is to fall, India had Akash Deep as well as their usual No. 4 ready. A moment captured brilliantly by the camera showed a fun banter between Kohli and Akash, where the senior pro teased the young Indian pacer to go and bat ahead of him. There was no talking, no gesturing; only communication with a nod of the head.
But all jokes and fun apart, India need the best out of Kohli if they are to prevent a second successive defeat to New Zealand. The BlackCaps, having registered a famous win in Bengaluru last week – their first in India since 1988 – stand on the cusp of becoming the first team to beat India in India since 2012 – and the Men in Blue, who are hoping to keep their World Test Championship final chances alive, will be required to bat out of their skins to take the lead of the Kiwis and take further lead.
