There has been a stark contrast between the India and England captains in the ongoing series so far. Virat Kohli has to work hard for every run and seems to be lost at the crease. On the other hand, Joe Root is a man who can do no wrong with the bat. Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra believes confidence separates the two batsmen at the moment.
Members of the “Big Four”, both batsmen have proved their class and calibre over the years, but their form is a lot different in the series. Joe Root has already struck three centuries in the series so far while Kohli has managed one sluggish half-century.
While speaking on his YouTube channel, the former opener opined that Kohli is still figuring out to score runs, much like the past two years. Meanwhile, Root is someone who is in the middle of a purple patch. He said:
“There is a difference in runs. Root has reached 725. I don’t know where he has reached; he is not stopping at all and is in a purple patch. Kohli is trying to figure out ways on how to score runs. It is not easy,”
“I feel confidence makes a huge difference, from where you are starting. India’s last Test series was against England in India; those were tough pitches, only Rohit Sharma could leave an impression as a batsman, a century each from Rishabh Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin, but that’s about it,” he added.
Chopra compared Root to the Virat Kohli of 2018, who had come back to England and left as the leading run-scorer of the series.
“He (Joe Root) is in his own zone like Virat Kohli was in 2018. Every great player, who plays for a long time, will always go through such a phase sometime or the other where you will either get into a purple patch or you are just trying to figure out ways to score runs, sometimes ugly runs. That is what Virat Kohli is doing at the moment,” Chopra concluded
Virat Kohli’s similar manner of dismissals has been a huge cause of concern for India. Moreover, the poor form of the middle order is also under the scanner.
Changes might be in order for the team with names on the bench waiting for the chance. India and England will face off at The Oval from September 2 onwards in the fourth Test of the series.
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