'I'm not going to defend Virat Kohli here, but....': Dinesh Karthik's blunt remark on RCB teammate's struggle vs Sri Lankan spinners

The Rohit Sharma-led side on Sri Lankan soil failed to win a single ODI of the three-ODI series. In the run chase, they failed to get over the mark as Sri Lankan spinners dominated the proceedings in the middle overs. In all three run chases, India missed the form of their ‘chase master’ Virat Kohli who got off to starts but could not convert them into big scores. As India lost the bilateral ODI series to Sri Lanka after a long gap of 27 years, former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik did not defend his Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) teammate.
 

Kohli registered scores of 24, 14 and 20 respectively in the ODI series. Karthik feels that it is hard to bat on pitches where there is so much assistance for spinners. 
 

“In this series… let's admit. Be it Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma or anyone else. With a slightly semi-new ball, between overs 8-30, it's hard work. Nothing to worry about. Not too many pitches work that way, but it's been a tough pitch to play spinners. I'm not going to defend Virat Kohli here, but playing spin here is very hard,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
 

Kohli’s ODI record in Sri Lanka

Overall, Kohli has a good record on Sri Lankan pitches. He has scored 1,086 runs from 29 innings at an average of 45.25 including five centuries and two fifties.

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Next ODI series 

The Indian team will not play another ODI series this year. The next ODI series will be against England at home in February 2025. It will take place before the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

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Theekshana credits turning wickets for series win

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka spinner Maheesh Theekshana said that the reason why Indian batters struggled is because they are used to play on good wickets at home.
 

“They (India) usually play on good wickets and small boundaries in India,” Theekshana had said after the series win.
 

“We knew playing in Premadasa, if there’s little bit turn, we can take advantage because we have good spinners,” the 24-year-old spinner added.
 

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