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Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who scored 57 in the first game against Pakistan, was sent back cheaply against New Zealand on Sunday by Ish Sodhi. He managed just nine runs off 17 deliveries in the vital Super 12 contest of the T20 World Cup.
New Zealand spinners, led by Ish Sodhi, kept a tight leash and didn’t allow the Indian captain to play his natural game. Kohli didn’t hit a single boundary during his knock and failed to open his account in the first five deliveries before being sent back to the pavilion.
Indian star spinner Harbhajan Singh feels Kane Williamson and his boys targeted Kohli’s ‘ego’ and explained how the opponent planned his dismissal.
“They played with Virat Kohli’s ego. They said that they will not give him runs, if you come at the start and play the big shot, it’s fine but they will not give the singles. When you hurt a big player’s ego by not giving the singles, they play a shot like Virat Kohli played today,” Harbhajan told the host broadcaster Star Sports.
Harbhajan explained how New Zealand forced Kohli to play a shot that was anomalous.
“Virat Kohli’s shot is not his natural game. He tried what he doesn’t do. If he had hit the same ball over cover or played after stepping out, I feel that would have been a better option,” added Singh.
Harbhajan credited New Zealand’s spinners Mitchell Santner and Sodhi for planning Kohli’s dismissal by spinning a web around the Indian captain, forcing him to go for a shot which he usually never plays.
“Normally, Virat Kohli’s singles cannot be stopped. But today, Virat Kohli didn’t have the space to take singles. Credit to New Zealand’s field setting and the way Mitchel Santner and Ish Sodhi bowled, they didn’t give the easy singles, because of that they forced Virat Kohli to play that shot which he never plays,” Singh said.
