Kohli's ton has narrowed gap between the two teams, says Bangar

India's assistant coach Sanjay Bangar said Virat Kohli's century massively narrowed the gap between the two teams at the end of the second day of the first Test.

Published : Aug 03, 2018 00:47 IST , Birmingham

Sanjay Bangar on Virat Kohli's innings: Passing an individual landmark doesn't mean much to him. If it's good day for him, he makes sure it's a great day for him and the team."
Sanjay Bangar on Virat Kohli's innings: Passing an individual landmark doesn't mean much to him. If it's good day for him, he makes sure it's a great day for him and the team."
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Sanjay Bangar on Virat Kohli's innings: Passing an individual landmark doesn't mean much to him. If it's good day for him, he makes sure it's a great day for him and the team."

India's assistant coach Sanjay Bangar was full of praise for Virat Kohli's 22nd Test hundred – his first in England – but admitted that his side's other batsmen ought to have done better. "It [the struggle against swing] is not specific to Indian batsmen," he said.

"If the ball is swinging or turning, it poses a different challenge and you need to gut it out in the middle. Virat had to play through various phases where run-making wasn't that easy. But he showed terrific discipline. At times you need to forget what has happened with the previous ball and focus on the ball that is coming."

RELATED| Day two: Kohli's gritty ton gives India the edge

"At times you will look ugly but that is something you have to adapt to. At no instance did Virat reach out for the ball, and probably a couple of our other batsmen did, which caused their downfall," he continued.

"Unfortunately, a couple of our players threw away their wickets away, but apart from that, the tail – the last five wickets – contributed nearly 170 runs. A lot of cricket to be played, but that innings of Virat has narrowed the gap massively between the two teams," he added.

Bangar said of Virat Kohli, "Quality players keep on assessing their own games and where they want to progress. When he bats in that fashion, he more often than not gets the team into good positions. Today, it was his first hundred in England in Tests; he had to wait a long time to get to this, but he made sure to continue even after that. Passing an individual landmark doesn't mean much to him. If it's good day for him, he makes sure it's a great day for him and the team."

RELATED| Kohli slams maiden Test century in England

Asked to compare the innings with Sachin Tendulkar's double hundred in Sydney in 2004, Bangar said, "It's not always great to compare two performances but this individual knock that Virat played might have given him a great sense of satisfaction – purely the job satisfaction that every professional aspires for. The stand-out part of this innings was that he was always playing close to his body and he waited for the right chances. The way he batted with the tail was a lesson in itself, giving them a bit of confidence, giving them the strike when required. And when the field came up, he went for his strokes."

Kohli's innings an eye-opener, says Curran

England's Sam Curran, who took four for 74 on the second day of the first Test, described Kohli's innings as an "eye-opener". 

“I'm only in my second game, but I think it was a little eye-opener to watch the way he bats and how precise you've got to be with your lengths (to him). But he did nick a lot of balls outside off-stump that didn't carry as well. We stuck to our plans very well against him, and on another day they would carry," said the 20 year-old.

Curran was not upset about the dropped catches. "No one means to drop catches, and on another day they would be taken. But you can't dwell on those things too much – especially in a game like this, because there's going to be another chance coming at you straightaway," he said.

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