Legendary England batsman Geoffrey Boycott hailed Indian Test captain Virat Kohli’s performance after he scored another century to ensure India took the lead on day three of the fourth Test against England at Mumbai. Boycott compared Kohli’s footwork to chocolate and admitted that the hosts were simply too good for the visitors.
Coming in after the early loss of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli continued his sensational form by scoring his second century of the series and passing the 4000-run mark in Tests for India and helped India take a crucial lead at the Wankhede Stadium.
Extra Cover: Stats: Most runs in international cricket across all formats in 2016
Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott was effusive in his praise of India’s Test skipper, whose footwork the legendary batsman has praised.
“Rashid bowled much better today and so did Moeen Ali. As much as the pitch turned, it’s slow and if you have a class act like Virat Kohli,” he said. “He's so smooth, like milk chocolate. Never mind all the shots, the feet get you in such lovely position and his footwork gets him into position so early, quickly and perfectly balanced and from there it is quite easy to play.
“And it’s looks so easy. It is all done because of the smoothness, the ease of the footwork and seeing the length so quickly. Kohli is a class player. For people who like Test cricket, you’ve got to watch him. It's a pleasure to watch him.“
India were too good: Boycott
Boycott also compared his footwork to the legendary West Indian batsman Brian Lara, who he admitted Kohli reminded him of. He was also quick to add that it was not all England’s fault, even if they did drop Kohli on 68 when he gave a tough return chance to Adil Rashid and praised the bowlers for bowling “quite well” for the majority of the third day’s play, especially the spinners, who bowled the majority of the overs.
“We’ve had chances but when push came to shove, we’ve not been good enough,” he said. “Every time England sneaked the door open, India were too good - that's been the story of the day.“
As far the game is concerned, the fourth Test is still evenly poised even if it is the hosts who hold all the cards with two set batsmen at the crease and a lead of 51 runs with three more wickets in hand. Early wickets on day four, especially that of Kohli's and England will still have a chance of getting back into this encounter and making an unlikely comeback in this series.
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