For a man who seemed unstoppable even two years ago, Virat Kohli's luck with the bat is completely incomprehensible. The world's number one batsman, who collected hundreds at will, has not scored one hundred in all three formats in 50 innings. India's captain Virat Kohli's fight continue as he was dismissed in the first hour of the first day of 3rd Test against England at Headingley in Leeds. James Anderson sent Kohli back to the pavilion for 7. Lean patches are part of a cricketer's journey. There are likely to be peaks and valleys in performance as the career runs. Every great in the game has had their share of dips and Kohli is undoubtedly facing headwinds after fixing the loopholes in 2014. But it looks like the old habit of dangling the bat outside the off-stump seems to be back and Kohli not for the first time in England, got out swishing at a ball a could have been left alone. This was the fourth time in the series that he had edged the ball behind the stumps. Most dismissals for Kohli against a bowler in TestsJames Anderson - 7 times in 23 matches Nathan Lyon - 7 times in 18 matches Stuart Broad - 5 times in 18 matches Moeen Ali - 5 times in 15 matches Ben Stokes - 5 times in 15 matches Kohli's lean patch began with the 2020 Tour in New Zealand, where he managed 218 runs in four T20Is, three ODI matches and two test matches. In the only Test he played in Australia late last year, his defiant 74 in the first innings was lost in the ruins of the disastrous second innings of the pink-ball Test where India were gobbled up for 36. It was an out of character show from the India captain who spent 244 minutes at the crease for his 180-ball effort. It was also his second slowest half-century. A similar kind of effort would have helped the India cause at Headingley had kohli played the waiting game. With KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara back in the shade. Kohli made the appropriate noises on the eve of the Test by saying "You have to keep your ego in your pocket while batting in England". In his pre & post match discourses , Kohli avoids talking about the individual players form. "Our focus is not thinking about where people are individually now. It's collectively about how much strength they bring to the team. As a batting unit, we look to perform in tough conditions, so we are in a winning positions and someone is going to put their hands in every game." Kohli has maintained when asked about the Pujara and Rahane's ordeals.Also Read- India interested in hosting 2036, 2040 Olympics: IOC President Thomas Bach
In form captain Joe Root edged out players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Alastair Cook to become the batsman with the most hundreds in the India vs England Test after scoring the eighth century in the Test against Virat Kohli side during the second match of the series in Leeds on Thursday. Root tops the list of most number of hundred in India vs England Tests with 8 centuries in 41 innings, while Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Alastair Cook are the second seven-ton sets in bilateral series between the two countries. Root also became the first player to score hundreds in 3 consecutive tests twice in the same year. Root hit hundred in each of the last two tests in Nottingham and London. Root also became the player to score more than fifty plus as captain during England vs India in England. Root smashed six fifties while playing against India in England, he equalled MS Dhoni's record.Also Read- India vs England: Wounds of 2014 hurt Virat Kohli again Root scored 139-run in 189-ball with Malan (70 of 128) before the southpaw picked up edge while trying to flick Mohamed Siraj ball. Indian pacers, who wrote a memorable script for the Lords victory, bowled too many boundary balls and the English duo were quick to pick them. The pitch appears to have loosened considerably for the batsman after India collapsed to 78 on the first day. Indian bowlers have not been able to send Root back to the pavilion easily in the series and the skipper scored runs whenever he want to. He seems to be in form and reached his 51 fifty of 57 balls with a impressive back foot punch through the covers.Also Read- IPL 2021: Pandya brothers Kunal and Hardik join Mumbai Indian camp in Abu Dhabi
