Virat Kohli is one of the most athletic cricketers in the world right now. Kohli is usually very agile on the field and manages to pull off catches that make everyone's jaw drop. But Kohli looked the palest shadow of himself at first slip in the second session of Day 3 of the second Test between India and Bangladesh. Kohli dropped as many as three catches in the same fielding position.
The first drop was of Litton Das in the 44th over of the innings. Das pushed at a ball with an open face of the bat and edge the ball to first slip. Kohli found himself wrong-footed and the edge flew past his left and for a boundary. The Bangladesh batter was batting on 20 when he was dropped and Bangladesh’s score was 106/5.
The second drop was that of Nurul Hasan who was playing a crucial cameo with Das on the other end. Nurul was beaten and outside-edged the ball attempting to play a defensive shot. The lack of pace from Axar decieved the tailender and once again the edge went to Kohli's left. However, Nurul did not score a single run after that boundary as Axar lured him into dancing down the track to get him stumped by Rishabh Pant.
The third drop came off Ravichandran Ashwin's bowling. This was much simpler than the rest. The ball almost bounced off Kohli's right hand as Das completed his fifty.
After completing his half-century, Das played more freely. Taskin Ahmed joined him in the onslaught as well. The two batters shared a crucial 60-run partnership for the eighth wicket.
The three dropped catches plus a couple more chances that were at first slip helped Bangladesh make a comeback in the game. At one point, it seemed like they will take a nominal lead which will be chased down on Day 3 itself. Instead, they scored 231 in the first innings and set a tricky target of 145 on a spin-friendly Dhaka track.
It was very clear that the run chase will be far from cakewalk for India. After India's top-order collapse, Kohli came out to bat at no.5 as Axar Patel was promoted to counter the two left-arm spinners. Kohli fell to Mehidy Hasan Miraz as he inside edged one to forward square leg fielder Mominul Haque. Kohli could score just one run from 22 deliveries as India lost their fourth wicket in the third session for 37.
