'He will be destructive' - Virat Kohli backs Prithvi Shaw to come good in the second Test

Indian batting was at its worse during the first Test match against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. The visitors, who are the no.1 ranked team in the ICC Test rankings and in the ICC World Test Championship points table, were bowled out for 165 and 191 runs in two innings, as they lost the match by a whopping 10-wicket margin.

Apart from Ajinkya Rahane and Mayank Agarwal, none of the other Indian batsmen seemed comfortable with the movement off the pitch and swing in the air generated by Tim Southee, Trent Boult and the bounce achieved by 6ft 8in debutant Kyle Jamieson, on the Basin Reserve pitch. Even Virat Kohli, who is usually the most fluent of batsmen in any condition, was dismissed for just 2 and 19 runs in either inning.

However, one of the biggest disappointments was the performance of opener Prithvi Shaw, who was backed to come good, as he returned to top-flight Test cricket after 18 months. He was picked over Shubman Gill, who had scores of 83, 204* and 136 runs for India A against New Zealand A previous to this series. Shaw, on the other hand, had scores of 150 and 55 in List A games, on the same tour.

“Just a matter of understanding the pace of the wicket”- Virat Kohli calls for patience with Shaw

However, captain Virat Kohli seemed to be practicing patience with the Mumbaikar, given that he was out of the international game for a year and a half. Shaw had made an impressive debut against West Indies at home, making a 99-ball century on debut and following it up with another impressive score in the second Test match of the same series in 2018.

“I don’t think at this stage, we need to sit down and discuss what’s going wrong because I don’t see anything wrong. It’s the execution of things that were not there. It is just a matter of understanding the pace of the wicket and conditions as soon as possible. Again, when he is in a clear frame of mind, he is very, very destructive. Once he feels that he can do it, I think it will be a different ball game. The mindset can shift very quickly,” Kohli was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Virat further felt that even Prithvi wanted to perform in tough conditions, but he felt that the team needs to give him enough time to get used to the New Zealand conditions a bit and when he starts scoring, he will gain in confidence. He felt giving a long rope to the opener is in the best interest of both the player and the team as well.