If Virat Kohli leaves aggression, it will make a lot of difference to his batting: Inzamam-ul-Haq

Indian skipper Virat Kohli scored a streaky 42 runs on the first day of the second Test match against England at the Lord’s Cricket Stadium before he poked one of Ollie Robinson’s deliveries to the slip cordon. Throughout his stay at the crease, the batter looked a bit uncomfortable and offered a few chances too. Speaking about the same, former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq assessed the Indian skipper’s method and felt he was not at his fluent best.

Although Kohli formed a crucial partnership with KL Rahul by adding 117 runs, he seemed to be a bit off-color. Inzamam felt Kohli was cautious and wanted to score more runs after missing out on the first Test match at Trent Bridge. The right-hand batter was dismissed for a golden duck by James Anderson in the first innings and in the second innings, he could not get to bat due to the rain lashing away the fifth day’s play.

The former Pakistan captain stated that it was not a typical innings by Kohli, “Virat was well set at 42 but, his caliber and his style of play, he stepped out of it in this innings. His strike rate was only 39-40, despite Virat’s aggression. If Virat Kohli leaves aggression out of his game, then it will make a lot of difference to his batting,” Inzamam said on his YouTube channel.

Inzamam-ul-Haq feels Virat Kohli should have played more briskly

The cricketer-turned-expert further opined that the Indian skipper should have approached the innings differently by playing briskly. Inzamam felt by playing that way, Kohli would have gained some confidence.

“It may have been because he could not score in the first innings, he must have been trying to utilize this chance. According to me, a big player like Virat will not be affected by one or two failures. But if he plays with aggression and plays 100 balls regularly, his score should be in the range of 65-70, which would have given him a lot more confidence.”

Meanwhile, India had a good day first day at the Lord’s as KL Rahul scored a classy unbeaten 127. He took India to 276 and will look to add more runs to his tally on the second day along with Ajinkya Rahane.