Indian captain Virat Kohli was on course to reach the three-figure mark on the opening day of the ongoing warm-up match against Essex in Chelmsford on Wednesday, July 26.
After opting to bat against the county championship side, India were in a spot of bother as the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were dismissed cheaply after Essex pacers Matt Coles and Matthew Quinn made good use of the green track.
However, Kohli was looking a class apart ever since he walked on to bat at No. 5. The right-hander didn't take much time to go after the Essex attack and was punishing the bowlers whenever they erred with line or length.
Kohli went on to stitch a 90-run stand with opener Murali Vijay and steered India out of trouble.
However, he was dismissed on 68 after he tried to play an expansive drive off left-arm pacer Paul Walter. The skipper had been punishing the left-arm pacer at will throughout his 93-ball stay at the crease but gave away his wicket with a loose shot.
? Morning @PWalter_22! ? pic.twitter.com/2ez8zZw5O7
— Essex Cricket (@EssexCricket) July 26, 2018
Jaffer wants Kohli to avoid expansive drives
And that's exactly what former India opener Wasim Jaffer wants the Indian captain to avoid when he faces James Anderson & Co. in the upcoming five-Test series, starting August 1.
Jaffer, who was part of the victorious Indian touring team of 2007, says the 29-year-old needs to realise the importance of playing close the body and avoiding expansive drives even if he is well settled into the innings.
"I am sure Virat Kohli will succeed in England this time - he's far too good a player to fail here again. Since that tour he's played all over the world and done brilliantly," Jaffer wrote in his column for The Times of India.
He added: "The only thing he needs to be careful about is that he needs to play the ball late, and close to his body. He shouldn't play the ball away from his body, something which you can afford to do in India once you're set. In England, the ball moves around even after you're set, so he should avoid those expansive drives."
All eyes will be on Kohli right from the opening Test in Edgbaston as the Indian skipper will be eager to put behind the memories of a disastrous 2014 tour and start afresh. Notably, the right-hander suffered one of the biggest lows of his career during India's 3-1 defeat, scoring only 134 runs from 10 innings.
Kohli had consistently played away from his body during the said trip and the likes of Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Chris Jordan troubled the Delhi batsman with nagging lengths and lines.
Jaffer happy for his former opening partner
Meanwhile, Jaffer spoke about the importance of having an experienced batsman in Dinesh Karthik in the lower-middle order.
The wicketkeeper-batsman, who was unbeaten on 82 against Essex at close of play yesterday, had partnered with Jaffer during the memorable 2007 tour. The then 22-year-old countered the new ball wonderfully well and hit 263 runs in three matches.
"I'm very happy for Karthik, who was my opening partner in that 2007 tour. If he gets runs, then India will get a valuable batsman at No. 6. Having been an opener, he knows how to play the second new ball. I hope he grabs this opportunity."
