Kyle Jamieson certainly knows a thing or two about Virat Kohli. Having been his team-mate at Royal Challengers Bangalore during the Indian Premier League, the tall fast bowler from New Zealand had a fair amount of time to observe the Indian captain closely.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
At the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on Sunday, Jamieson not only scalped a five-for, but also trapped Kohli leg-before to put India under pressure in the final of the World Test Championship. But Jamieson does not believe that he has found any chinks in Kohli’s armour.
“He is a world-class batter, and those guys don't tend to have too many chinks in their armour. It is certainly pleasing to get him (Kohli). But he is obviously a massive part of their lineup, and to get him early certainly set things up nicely for us,” Jamieson said in a media interaction.
'Great start'
“It was just pleasing in terms of myself being able to try to wobble the ball and try and keep him in check a little bit and to get that wicket. It is just a great start for our game,” the pace ace added.
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When India toured New Zealand last year, Jamieson had dismissed Kohli in a similar fashion - with outgoing deliveries and then bringing one back in. Jamieson admitted that it’s sort of a pattern to get rid of the India captain.
“Yeah, maybe there's some sort of pattern. I don't necessarily know if we talk about it a huge amount. I think the one that I was able to get with him today certainly seamed back a little bit and those are pretty hard to control as a bowler and pretty hard to manage as a batter no matter who you are, so I don't think it's necessarily just for him,” he said.
“Obviously he is a massive part of their team and a pretty big wicket to get. To get him pretty early this morning I guess was nice and was pleasing and pretty crucial for how the day unfolded,” the 26-year-old said.
IND v NZ, DAY THREE - AS IT HAPPENED
While New Zealand is trailing by 116 runs, Jamieson made it clear that a lead of anywhere between 50 and 150 would be ‘great’ for the side to gain the upper hand. “We have seen that it's been tough, and we know in England that things, when they happen, can happen quickly. The way we started tonight was obviously pretty good in terms of that front. Things didn't happen too quickly and we were able to build a pretty solid foundation.
“Obviously the key moving forward is to try and build on that, and if we can get ahead, great, if we can get 50, 100, 150, great. I think as a bowling unit we'll take whatever we can get really,” he said.
“We have seen that it's not easy. It's not easy batting conditions, and with the class of this Indian bowling lineup we know that it's going to be tough. It's just going to be about trying to win the moment and to stay in the moment. If we can do that, whatever lead we can get to, if we get there, and then build on it will be great.”
'World-class openers'
After bundling out India for 217 in the first innings, New Zealand had a 70-run opening stand between Tom Latham and Devon Conway - who hammered yet another half-century. And Jamieson was excited with the way the openers fared.
“They were superb. I think from my short time in this team it was some of the best batting that I'd seen. I think the way that Tom and Dev approached that, the ball was going to move around, we knew that. The conditions were probably going to be in the bowler's favour. The way they approached that pretty tricky period was outstanding,” he said.
“I think they're two pretty world-class openers in my opinion anyway. The way they tackled that, built a partnership, and yeah, got us to where we are was certainly pretty special.”
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