Whatever Virat Kohli touched on final day of Oval Test turned to gold, says Nasser Hussain

09/07/2021

London, Sept. 7: Former England cricketer Nasser Hussain gave a huge compliment to Virat Kohli, whose team pulled off a sensational 157-run win against England in the fourth Test at The Oval, saying that the Indian skipper had his Midas Test and everything "Virat touched turned to gold on the decisive final day".

India pulled off the fourth-Test win against the hosts on Monday evening - only their second-ever at The Oval and first at the venue after 1971 - to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match series. This is also only the second time in history - after 1986 - that India have won two Tests on one tour of England. They had beaten England by 151 runs in the second Test at Lord's last month.

"I said at the start of the fifth day that it was going to be a big test of Virat Kohli's captaincy - and he passed that test with flying colours. That Oval pitch offered very little for the seamers, and only a bit of rough for Ravindra Jadeja's left-arm spin. But somehow he (Kohli) manufactured 10 English wickets on the last day," Hussain said in his column for the Daily Mail on Tuesday.

The victory was through a remarkable turnaround for India as they had been bowled out for 191 in the first innings. But they managed to restrict England's first-innings lead to just 99 runs on a placid wicket. Kohli's men then ensured better batting in second innings. The top three batsmen shone and India, with contribution from middle and lower order took the total to 466 and set England a target of 368 to win.

The former England skipper said that on Monday, every tweak and every bowling change which the Indian skipper effected went in his team's favour.

"Every bowling change worked, and so did every tweak to the field. And when he (Kohli) took the second new ball after tea, it produced a wicket straightaway, with Umesh Yadav getting Craig Overton. One way or another, this was Kohli's Midas Test - everything he touched turned to gold, and India are now one game away from a famous series victory, not long after beating Australia in their own backyard."

Hussain said that India hardly ever missed Ravichandran Ashwin. "Even the non-selection of Ravichandran Ashwin, the top-ranked spinner in Test cricket, became irrelevant. People said India would miss him. Kohli said: 'No, we won't. I'm backing our seamers to do the job.' And he was right. Jimmy Anderson had told me that there was nothing in the pitch for the seamers on the fourth day, and no lateral movement whatsoever, so what did Jasprit Bumrah do?" asked Hussain.

The former England player said that the Indian pacer altered his tactics and started bowling bouncers and yorkers to unnerve the England bastmen. "He took the pitch out of the equation by bowling bouncers and yorkers. That was a brilliant spell between lunch and tea, when he got rid of Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow, and it decided the Test match. Crucially, India got it reversing, and when you have bowlers such as Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and even Shardul Thakur in your attack, that is going to be a handful for anyone." -IANS

Related News

India’s Neeraj Chopra Wins Gold Medal In Tokyo Olympic

Tokyo, Aug. 7: Neeraj Chopra win a gold medal, flinging the javelin a staggering 87.58m to top the charts in Tokyo, With this gold, India win seven medal in total with 2 silver and 4 bronze. The gold, a historic first for the country in track and field, the second…

Lionel Messi to be seen in Paris Saint-Germain’s colours

Paris, Aug. 11: Lionel Messi is travelling to France after agreeing to join Paris Saint-Germain, a person with knowledge of the negotiations has told the Associated Press, paving the way for one of the game’s greats to play for a new club after spending his entire career at Barcelona. The…

Bruno hat-trick gives Man United big win

Manchester, Aug. 15: Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick and Paul Pogba set up four goals as Manchester United thrashed Leeds 5-1 to make a statement about their Premier League title credentials. On a day when Jadon Sancho made his debut off the bench and Raphael Varane was presented as the…

In T20 World Cup, India to play Pakistan in Dubai on October 24

New Delhi, Aug. 18: The ICC Men's T-20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman will get under way from October 17, with the final to be played in Dubai on November 14 and the first semifinal in Abu Dhabi on November 10. India and Pakistan will lock horns on…

Indian hockey teams unlikely to compete in Birmingham Commonwealth Games, says IOA chief Batra

New Delhi, Sept. 3: The Indian hockey teams are unlikely to participate in next year's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham to ensure that they hit peak form during the Asian Games, which is a qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra said on Friday. Batra said…

Tokyo Paralympics: Pramod Bhagat wins first ever badminton gold for India

Tokyo, Sept. 4: India’s Pramod Bhagat won the Men’s Singles SL3 event badminton gold medal match against Great Britain’s Daniell Bethell at the Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday. This is India’s first medal in badminton at the Paralympics Games. Manoj Sarkar beat Daisuke Fujihara of Japan and clinched the Bronze medal…

Video

Find Us on Facebook

From Social

Kathmandu, Nov. 24: The joint training exercise "SURYA KIRAN-XVII" of Nepali Army and Indian Army is starting from 24 November 2023 in Pithoragarh, India. The Nepalese army team that will participate in the exercise, which will be attended by the…

Nepal-India Joint Military Training Excerise Surya Kiran Begin Today    

New Delhi, May 5: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the guest of honour for this year’s Bastille Day Parade in Paris scheduled to take place on July 14.  In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of…

Indian PM Modi to attend Bastille Day Parade in Paris as guest of honour on July 14