"That is class, pure class" - Dinesh Karthik on how Virat Kohli countered spinners in 2nd IND vs AUS Test 

Dinesh Karthik believes that Virat Kohli's 44-run knock in the first innings of the second Test between India and Australia in Delhi will do wonders for his confidence.

The keeper-batter opined that Kohli looked assured of his game against the Australian spinners. He stated that while many Indian batters struggled to get going when Nathan Lyon was bowling, Kohli was able to negate the seasoned bowler very well.

Karthik also mentioned that while the star batter finished with scores of 44 and 20, he would be very pleased with the way he batted in the match. Speaking about Kohli's batting exploits, he told Cricbuzz:

"As cricket fans, we look at the results, and sometimes we just tend to look at the numbers, but as a player, when you look at it, you get confidence from certain knocks. This will be one such knock for Virat Kohli. Others were struggling to play Nathan Lyon.

"With the two wickets that fell before that; Pujara and KL Rahul, it looked like Lyon was making it happen. Then you get Rohit Sharma, who was batting well. But Kohli made it look like not much was happening, that is class, pure class."

Playing at his home ground in Delhi, Kohli looked set for a big one in India's first innings. He looked very confident during his time at the crease. However, his promising knock came to a premature end after he got out to a contentious decision.

The batter looked completely disappointed after being dismissed in such a manner, given that it was a touch-and-go call.

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"Got his game plan perfectly on point in this game" - Dinesh Karthik on Virat Kohli

While Virat Kohli has struggled to get going against spin bowlers in the recent past, he looked fairly comfortable against them in the second Test.

Dinesh Karthik highlighted that Kohli's sound technique made it difficult for the Aussie spinners. He mentioned that the right-handed batter covered his off-stump and didn't let the bowlers have a view of the stumps.

"He [Virat Kohli] had a great plan where he covered his off stump, got into line and made sure he was scoring runs on the leg side," he added. "As a bowler, when you don't see the stumps, it's very hard to go further outside because then that opens up the gap in the covers, and when you get in the stumps, he's playing you comfortably. That's gamesmanship and I thought he got his game plan perfectly on point in this game."

Notably, Kohli was out stumped for the first time in his Test career after getting out to off-spinner Todd Murphy in the second innings. With two more matches to go in the series, he still has a chance of bouncing back by scoring big runs.