‘The first six he hit off me was a hell of a shot’: Mark Wood explains how Virat Kohli foiled his game plan
Reacting to Kohli’s power-hitting, Wood said that the Indian captain played some really good shots and ‘good players are allowed to do that’.
England pacer Mark Wood caused some serious damage to the Indian batting line-up during the third T20I in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. The right-arm quick removed both openers – KL Rahul (0) and Rohit Sharma (15) within the powerplay and then returned in the 15 over to get rid of Shreyas Iyer (9).
Wood had conceded just 17 runs in his first three overs. But then he faced Virat Kohli in his final over and witnessed his economy getting ruined. The Indian skipper smashed a total of 17 runs in that over, including two maximums and a boundary.
Reacting to Kohli’s power-hitting, Wood said that the Indian captain played some really good shots and ‘good players are allowed to do that’.
“We have a plan as a group. Chris Jordon is an experienced bowler. We decide on the ball we are going to bowl and then you try to execute that. The plan was good but the execution was wrong. On a couple of balls, I felt I executed what I wanted to bowl, but Kohli just played good shots and good players are allowed to do that. The first six he hit off me, was a hell of a shot,” said Wood during a virtual press conference on Wednesday.
“If you allow good players to get in, he got in and he took his time and he caught up with it in the end. He is a fantastic player, but we were pleased with the score we kept them too. I will take the battering in the end for the early wickets which I got,” he added.
Wood revealed that how his stint with the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League helped him learning quite a few things, especially the art of bowling slower balls, from Indian pacer Shardul Thakur.
“Watching the Indian bowlers, I have played with Shardul Thakur in CSK, I have looked at his slower ball, that is something I can adapt in my game. Behind the scenes, I am trying to learn a few new things. It is always about picking up things, these are the conditions we will face in the World Cup,” he said.
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India and England will now lock horns in the fourth T20I of the five-match series on Thursday at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
(With Agency Inputs)
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