FIT IN CONSULTANTS

Former off-spinner Graeme Swann was pretty impressed with Virat Kohli’s approach in England’s third and final T20I against India on July 10 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. On Sunday, the Delhi-born Kohli came out firing on all cylinders and hit David Willey for a four followed by a six.

To his dismay, he got out in the very next ball while trying to smash Willey through the extra cover region. Jason Roy took a simple catch to help the Three Lions see the back of Kohli. Swann said that on some other day, the same shot would have earned Kohli a boundary.

“I loved the way Virat Kohli came out, desperate to take the attack to the England bowlers. He hit a four and a six and on another day the ball he got out to would have flown to the boundary. He is just in horror form where he can’t catch a break,” Swann was quoted as saying after the match.

Swann also didn’t come down hard on the Indian top order for playing rash shots. At the end of five overs, India found themselves three down for 31 while chasing 216. Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Kohli perished without disturbing the scorers much.

“Let’s face it, in isolation, these are terrible dismissals. But I don’t think you can have a go at the Indian top order for trying to take advantage of the powerplay when you are chasing more than 210. Had they been 30 for none or 40 for one in six overs, they would have lost the game. They would have ended up very short,” he added.

However, Suryakumar Yadav scored a 48-ball century to keep the Men in Blue alive in the match. In the end, India lost the game by 17 runs, but won the series 2-1.

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