India vs England: Ramiz Raja draws Virat Kohli’s parallels to a ‘Rolls Royce’

Ramiz Raja, the former Pakistan cricketer, heaped praises on Virat Kohli, saying that the right-hander’s batting was similar to the features of a ‘Rolls Royce’ during the second Test against England at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. In the first innings, the 32-year-old Virat couldn’t open his account after Moeen Ali breached his defence to rattle his woodwork.

But in the second innings, he scored 62 runs off 149 balls with seven fours and also stitched together a 116-run stand with Ravi Ashwin for the seventh wicket. Raja was in awe of Virat’s footwork and he lauded the Delhi-born for his approach on a tough strip to bat on. He also had words of praise for Rohit Sharma and Ashwin, who both scored centuries in the Chepauk Test.

Virat Kohli’s footwork exemplary: Raja

“The batting was outstanding. When your opener scores above 160, you can’t really question the pitch. And the way Ashwin batted in the second innings using his common sense was superb. But the man who batted the best in the match was Virat Kohli.

“His footwork exemplary, concentration was very good on a difficult track. It felt like a Rolls Royce was batting in the middle,” Raja was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.

Raja felt that India were bold in their decision mark after losing the opening Test in Chennai by 227 runs. Axar Patel, who made his debut in Test cricket, picked up two wickets in the first innings followed by five wickets in the second.

On the other hand, Ashwin, apart from his ton in the second innings, picked up five wickets in the first innings, followed by three in the second. Raja reckons that the hosts would get the better of the Brits in the remaining two games.

“India went ahead of the perfect team. They did not shy away from making bold selections. Axar Patel picked up five wickets on debut, Ravi Ashwin scored a century, picked up wickets, the catching was brilliant from India.

“Overall, it was a complete performance from India. They had lost the first Test, needed to make a turnaround and they did it. My gut feeling says England will be battered in the rest of the series. India are now in form,” he added.