India vs Australia: ‘Virat Kohli always finds ways to score runs,’ says Sanjay Manjrekar

Indian skipper Virat Kohli is one of the greatest batsmen of modern day cricket. The 32-year old has dominated the game in all parts of the world. In the last ten years, Kohli kept on improving himself to become one of the most consistent players of all-time. 

However, the story didn’t always look this as Virat Kohli went through an inconsistent patch of runs during the early phase of his career. Former Indian opener Sanjay Manjrekar remembered the 2011-12 series against Australia where Virat Kohli failed to score massive runs. However, he recalled how then-skipper MS Dhoni backed him, and the Delhi-born smashed a century in the last Test at the Adelaide Oval.

“Virat Kohli is Virat Kohli. He always finds ways to score runs,” Manjrekar said while speaking on the Sony Sports Network.

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“The hundred that he scored in the 2011/12 series, India lost it 0-4. They’d lost to England 0-4. And I think that was the only century scored by an Indian in that series. He was a young man who actually was on the verge of getting dropped after Sydney. Dhoni backed him; he played in Perth scored a 70, and then he got that hundred.”

‘Adelaide’s pitch is close to home’

Sanjay Manjrekar also talked about the conditions of Adelaide Oval where the first match is scheduled to take place from December 17 onwards. The former cricketer reckoned that the wicket won’t offer much bounce, making it close to an Indian pitch. However, playing the game with a pink ball makes it a different affair altogether. 

“Now at Adelaide, a lot of Indian batsmen have got runs. It’s a pitch closer to home and it’s got pace but the bouncer comes around this high (Pointing to his chest). It’s like an Indian pitch, but because it’s day/night and there’s going to be the pink ball, that changes things completely. The thing with Virat Kohli is that later, in 2014/15, he hit four hundreds,” Manjrekar added.

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