Follow UsVirat Kohli slammed his 52nd One-Day International (ODI) ton in the first match of the series against South Africa in Ranchi on November 30 (Monday). He was at his clinical best throughout the innings as his 135 helped India post a massive total of 349.
Marco Jansen was first introduced to Kohli as a teenager when the tall pacer bowled to the batter in the nets in South Africa. From there, the duo have come up against each other at the international level many times.
Speaking of bowling to Kohli, Jansen said, it is fun to bowl to someone of his calibre, but annoying at the same time. “It's nice to watch him play. Growing up watching him on TV to actually bowling to him now… it's annoying, but it's fun at the same time,” Jansen said, as per Times of India.
“He drives well, he pulls well, cuts well, plays with his pads well. I don't think much has changed — he's just batting longer and longer."
Jansen explains that his aim is to get rid of batters of Kohli's stature in the first 10-15 balls as they are still figuring out the wicket.
“When you bowl to world-class players, it's quite difficult to get them out. I always try to get a batter in his first 10 or 15 balls. That's when they're still getting used to the wicket,” Jansen explained.
“Once they're in, and they get on a roll, it's very difficult to stop them. Everyone here knows how to play — that's why you go to plan B or C.”
Jansen picked up a couple of wickets and slammed a quickfire 70 in the first ODI in Ranchi, but that was not enough to take the Proteas over the line. They will look to draw level in the second ODI in Raipur, which will be played on December 3 (Wednesday).