Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif has come down hard on Virat Kohli for giving his wicket away by playing a “half-hearted” shot in the 21-run loss to Australia in the ODI series decider in Chennai on Wednesday. He lamented the lack of “planning” by India’s batting mainstay.
“It was a chip shot. There was no planning. The ball had gone one bounce to (David) Warner in the previous over. He just survived there. If you want to hit a six, you have to commit. When Virat Kohli decides something, he does it with certainty. You cannot play a half-hearted shot. When the ball becomes soft, the ball doesn’t travel. You will not be able to hit the ball into gaps, you will have to put power there,” Kaif said in an interaction with Star Sports.
Kohli was expected to play a long innings in Chennai, especially after he had got to a half-century. India were well on course to reach the target of 270 till the time Kohli was at the crease and even though India had lost a few wickets, there was no immediate cause for concern. However, Kohli fell to left-arm orthodox spinner Ashton Agar in the 36th over, having scored 54 runs off 72 balls. The beleaguered Suryakumar Yadav then came and went, bagging his third duck of the series and India kept on losing wickets are regular intervals to get allout for 248.
