In the dead rubber encounter against the Netherlands on November 12, Rohit Sharma used as many as nine bowlers including himself in the innings. Among the four part-time bowlers, Virat Kohli turned out to be the most impressive as he conceded 13 runs from the three overs he bowled and picked up the wicket of Dutch captain Scott Edwards. While it was a harmless delivery that got the better of Edwards, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey revealed that he was setting up the wicketkeeper-batter. Also, he said that he had a conversation with Rohit about how he could use his services with the ball.
"It was a nice set up. It was lovely to see Virat's wicket. I could see him adjusting the fine leg a little bit, looked at KL Rahul saying where he is going to bowl. It was a lovely set up. I had a chat with Rohit on how could we use Virat. With the new ball, he swings the ball and gives us that little bit in the powerplay," said Mhambrey in a video posted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Mhambrey went on to say that the team management is considering using Kohli's nipping yorkers in death overs as well against right-handed batters.
"The bigger challenge with Virat was the middle phase, which he has done in this game. He ticked that box as well. Now we are going to push him for the death, let's see when that happens, but I am sure he does have that really nipping, sharp yorkers for the right-handed batters. I think we will see little bit of that as well," Mhambrey added.
Kohli has a total of five wickets in ODIs. Edwards became Kohli's first victim in nine years in the ODI format.
India beat the Netherlands at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru by 160 runs. They will now face Kane Williamson-led New Zealand in the first semi-final at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on November 15. Kohli’s medium pace may come in handy if one of the main bowlers has a bad day at the office against the Kiwis.
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