Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has highlighted that a battle between Sandeep Sharma and Virat Kohli would be worth watching when RR takes on RCB at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati. Sandeep has dismissed Kohli on seven occasions in the IPL and thus has had his wood on the talismanic batter.
However, in the last four seasons, Kohli’s strike rate against the seasoned seamer has taken an upward trajectory. In the last four seasons, Kohli has remained unbeaten against Sharma and has scored 59 runs off 33 balls.
Pathan said Kohli would be aware that Sharma is mostly bowling his first ball of the spell as a slower delivery.
Pathan said on his YouTube Channel, “Look, Sandeep Sharma has dismissed Virat Kohli seven times. I had said against Mumbai that Sandeep Sharma should be brought in against Rohit Sharma, and Sandeep did get Rohit Sharma out. Now the concern is that Rohit Sharma’s strike rate against Sandeep stays around 100, but Virat Kohli’s strike rate against him in recent times has gone up to around 150.”
“He steps out, tries to put pressure on the bowler, and it feels like Sandeep Sharma’s peak is now behind him. These days he looks a bit more defensive, trying to find ways to survive. He has always been a smart bowler, but a pattern has been noticed. In all three recent matches, Sandeep Sharma has used a slower delivery on the very first ball. The question is, does Virat know this? I am sure he does, because he is a top player,” he added.
Pathan wondered what Kohli and Sandeep’s tactics would be against each other on Friday. The former swing bowler reckons Kohli would be able to counter Sandeep.
He said, “Will Kohli step out on the very first ball and try to put Sandeep under pressure throughout the over? Or will Sandeep think that he needs to try something different against Kohli? Because Anshul Kamboj got him out when he stepped out, and he has pace. So can Sandeep do something different? Can he keep the length a bit fuller, avoid slower balls and instead go for swing? Can he bring the wicketkeeper up? There will be many tactical moves in this battle. It feels like Virat Kohli, the way he is batting, might be able to counter this.”
RR will host RCB in Guwahati on Friday.
