Sri Lankan batsmen can learn so much from the way Kohli is playing: Sangakkara

In an exclusive column in the Times of India, Sangakkara heaped laurels on the way Kohli led the chase for India against the Sri Lankan attack.

“We saw another masterclass from Virat Kohli on Tuesday night. I thought he was fantastic against Sri Lanka and he fantastic against Sri Lanka and he really is a top-class player. Our guys can learn so much from the way he is playing right now,” he said.

He also singled out Kohli's fine dissection of the conditions, which were not so conducive to strokeplay, as the key reason for his success, saying, “In the after-match presentation, he spoke about adapting to conditions and that is something he did brilliantly. These are not normal T20 conditions and he has adjusted his game expertly, playing proper cricket strokes, playing each ball on its merits and using his crease.”

Sangakkara compared Kohli's rotation of strike through the innings to the Lankan approach and said the island nation's team needs to take a leaf or two out of Kohli's playbook. “He also rotates the strike and that is definitely something Sri Lanka need to work on. It's always important to rotate the strike, but especially so in difficult conditions. If you get more than 40+ dot balls in a 120-ball innings you are going to have trouble. Strike rotation is important because it reduces the pressure on the batsman, increases the pressure on the bowlers and ultimately creates boundary-scoring opportunities,” he said.

( Also find out some interesting stats and records that were created during the India- Sri Lanka match )

The legend also appeared impressed with Rohit Sharma saying, “Going back to India's batting, Kohli and Rohit Sharma are clearly the lynchpins for me in what is a very strong line-up,” in his column in the ToI.