Virat Kohli is the best player in the world, asserts Michael Atherton

Everytime India plays in any format, Virat Kohli is in the focus. Maybe he’s got used it to it now. But come the England tour it was something different. His record in Tests in the country was miserable and his nemesis in 2014, James Anderson was licking his lips again. But the Indian captain managed to overcome all the odds and played a thunderous knock of 149 runs in the first innings which has forced Michael Atherton to assert the fact that he is the best player in the world right now.

Anderson troubled him during the early part of his innings and even Joe Root gave him an extended spell to test the temperament of his counterpart. He missed some, edged some and was even dropped but Kohli was never deterred. He continued leaving the balls which were pitched on the probing lengths and most importantly he knew where his off-stump was.

Finally, the time came when he managed to unfurl his favourite cover drive and the smile on his face was evident. The shot got him going and then there was no stopping him.

It was a truly great innings

With the help of tailenders, Virat Kohli propelled India’s score from 182/8 to 274 with Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav contributing only 6 runs to the total. He played the situation perfectly and hogged the strike with the expertise to frustrate the home side. Michael Atherton, however, loved the way he showed respect to Anderson and also felt that the things could’ve been different if Malan hadn’t dropped him on 21.

“I think he’s the best player in the world. He had a bit to prove here because he had a miserable tour here four years ago when he suffered at the hands of Anderson. It was an intriguing personal battle between them yesterday and Kohli treated him with a great deal of respect. It was a truly great innings but it could have been a very different outcome had Malan held onto that chance when he had 21,” he said while speaking to Sky Sports.

The third day of the Test match has just begun and it will be interesting to see which team manages to gain an upper hand by the end of day’s play.

[interaction id=”5b6417b5afc9e431fe1c9e6e”]

Keep following CricTracker for more news and updates