It is not proving to be a good tour for Virat Kohli. He has scored just the one half-century across 9 innings on the tour and did not look very convincing in the first Test match in Wellington. New Zealand have been very specific with their plans against the Indian captain and ahead of the second Test match, Neil Wagner, who is slated to make a return after his paternity leave, has his eyes on the big fish.
“Every team I play against I always try and target and go for their best players, because you know what a big stride it makes within a team when you get their best players out,” Wagner told Stuff.co.nz. “Drying him up, making sure they don’t score and putting a lot of pressure on him from both ends [is imperative].”
In Test cricket, the left-armer has got rid of Kohli thrice in six innings and has conceded only 60 runs in 108 balls. It should be mentioned here that Wagner soared the last time these two sides met in New Zealand back in 2013-14 where he was the pick of the bowlers in the Auckland Test which New Zealand eventually managed to win by 40 runs.
“I think it was a stage where I was still trying to find my feet in the team and trying to find a way of getting a role and doing my role in the team,” Wagner said. “That’s one of the Test matches where it did turn. The way I bowl at the moment, that’s where it started.
{{/usCountry}}“I think it was a stage where I was still trying to find my feet in the team and trying to find a way of getting a role and doing my role in the team,” Wagner said. “That’s one of the Test matches where it did turn. The way I bowl at the moment, that’s where it started.
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“It was an amazing Test win and something I always look back to and I think it kickstarted my career. Before that I was going through the phase where you have quite a few ups and downs and try to find your feet.”