VVS Laxman thinks discipline is the key for Virat Kohli to keep going

England bowlers were probing around, half the side was back in the hut and the Indian captain Virat Kohli was edging the ball. He was playing with soft hands that prevented the edges from carrying. After Sam Curran got Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul in his first burst, Ben Stokes dismissed Ajinkya Rahane and Dinesh Karthik in quick succession.

The onus was now on Kohli, he had survived the tough phase, he even got a life when Dawid Malan dropped him off James Anderson at second slip. The English champion bowled a beautiful spell making the ball do all sorts of things and runs weren’t just coming. Kohli was still tentative and thus lured with the ones outside the line of his off-stump. But through all that, the Indian skipper kept going.

When he got past 42, he didn’t just get to his best score in England but also got past 7000 international runs as captain. Kohli continued to deal with the troubles while Hardik Pandya was dismissed by Curran in his second spell. He now has Ravichandran Ashwin as his partner and the 29-year-old got to his half century just before the Tea break.

Stay aware and disciplined

They still trail by 127 runs and the skipper has to keep going for the deficit to exhaust. Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman analysing the turn of events advised Kohli to be certain and clear of what he wants to do and only then will he be able to make it big.

“The pressure is definitely on Virat Kohli. It is very important for him to have a clear game plan, play with clarity and precision as far as his footwork is concerned. There is no doubt Jimmy Anderson or Stuart Broad and even Sam Curran for that matter will be looking to target his off-stump or just force him to play outside the off-stump. Virat Kohli should be aware of this and discipline is the key as of now,” Laxman said while speaking on ESPNcricinfo.

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