By all means, across all parameters and through every prism, Virat Kohli played an absolute masterclass against the moving ball in Edgbaston. It was defiant, it was bold, it was ugly and ungainly, but it was Test cricket, it needed to be resilient, and it was.
He single-handedly dragged his side to within 13 runs of England's first-innings score when at a time India could have been blown away for 120. Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar spoke after the day's play, and praised the skipper's discipline and mental strength.
'This knock will give Virat great satisfaction'
"It's not always great to compare two performances, but this knock Virat played will give him great satisfaction -- purely the job satisfaction every professional aspires for. The stand-out part of this innings was, he was always playing close to his body and waited for the right chances," Bangar said.
The battle was always going to be between James Anderson and Virat Kohli and the seamer never looked away from the battle, he kept persisting, he kept posing questions, Kohli's drive was challenged, he restrained, he even nicked a few, but then applied himself even more and the battle was spicy, it was just what was expected.
"You saw how Virat had to play through various phases where run making wasn't that easy. But he showed terrific discipline, and at times you need to forget what has happened with the previous ball and focus on the ball that is coming," Bangar further added.
Bangar also spoke about the way Kohli managed the tail and how he not only farmed the strike, but also played well-calculated strokes to keep the scoreboard moving. The captain added 92 runs with Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav for the final two wickets and scored more than 90% of the runs.
"The way he batted with the tail was a lesson, giving them a bit of confidence, giving them the strike when required. And when the field came up, he went for his strokes," Bangar said.
Speaking about the significance of the innings, Bangar said that he narrowed the difference significantly and it could well be the difference in the end.
"Today, he converted. His first hundred in England, and 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, more than that if it's a good day for him, he makes sure it's a great day for him and the team," the batting coach said.
