Photo Credit: Instagram Photo of @tamimofficial
Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal praised the team’s analyst for orchestrating Virat Kohli‘s early dismissal on Day 1 of the opening Test in Chennai.
Kohli, playing his first home Test in over a year, was dismissed after scoring just six runs. Tamim highlighted the analyst’s strategic insight as key to Kohli’s early exit.
Kohli, returning to Test cricket in India for the first time since March 2023, was widely expected to make a strong impact in front of the home crowd at the M. Chidambaram Stadium. The atmosphere was electric as the former Indian captain received loud cheers upon his arrival at the crease, but his stay was brief.
During the lunch break on Sports18, Tamim reflected on the dismissal, saying, “Virat’s been away from Test cricket for a while, so naturally he would want to feel the ball early on. Every batter goes through that. We all understand that sometimes you just want to make contact with the ball. The area where he got out has been troublesome for him in the past, and this dismissal really made our analyst look like a magician.”
Kohli’s dismissal was the result of a delivery from Bangladesh pacer Hasan Mahmud. The bowler bowled a well-pitched ball outside off-stump that tempted Kohli into a drive, resulting in an edge that wicketkeeper Litton Das caught cleanly. This was Hasan’s third wicket of the morning, leaving India in a challenging position at 68 for 3 before lunch.
India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, appeared frustrated as his team faced early pressure in the match. Kohli’s dismissal proved to be a crucial moment in the first session, eliciting mixed reactions from the Indian camp.
Former Indian wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel, who was part of the same broadcast, shared his insights on Kohli’s dismissal.
“Tamim mentioned it, and he’s right. Virat has been out of the Test scene for 556 days in India. When you’re returning after such a long break, you tend to want to feel the ball on the bat, and that can sometimes lead to these kinds of mistakes,” Patel remarked.
Patel suggested that Kohli’s eagerness to play the ball, coupled with Bangladesh’s effective strategy, contributed to his early dismissal.
“He was trying to find his rhythm, but the opposition read him well. In the second innings, we might see him leaving those deliveries outside off-stump. That’s the thing with long breaks—you’re just a bit off. But if that ball had found the middle of the bat, we could have been talking about a very different innings,” Patel concluded.
The much-anticipated first Test is expected to showcase more of Kohli’s skills; however, for now, Bangladesh’s strategy and execution, especially the contributions of their analyst, have received acclaim from both teams.
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