Jake Ball : England hoping to prevent Kohli from finding rhythm in Cuttack

01/18/2017

Rookie pacer Jake Ball has said England would try and trouble Indian skipper Virat Kohli with short balls and not allow him to find his rhythm in the second One-Day International to be played at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Jan 19.

Kohli hit 122 and shared in a 200-run stand with Kedar Jadhav to help set up India’s win in the opening ODI of the three-match series in Pune.

“I think that under the lights where it may skid on a bit more – you can use the shorter ball a little bit more... But I think it's just trying to mix it up as much as you can... try not to let him get settled and hope he hits one up in the air,” Ball told BBC Radio 5 live.

“He's an unbelievable player. We saw a lot of him in the Tests and he started the ODI series really well. We've got plans for him and, hopefully, we can put them into practice in a couple of days' time.”

Ball, 25, said the game had developed drastically over the years and that no score could be described as safe.

“When you’re looking at 350 and you’re thinking, ‘have we got enough’, it shows how the game has developed and how players have developed. It’s hard at the minute but we’re working on plans and things in the nets and hopefully, we can put those into practice,” Ball said.

Ball, who is three Tests and four ODIs old, credited Nottinghamshire team-mate Stuart Broad for his guidance.

“One thing he says is to stay calm. When you’re out there and the crowds are going and getting on top of you it’s quite easy to forget about your basics and forget about things you do well and trying to think too much about what the batter at the other end is doing. The best thing you can do is take your time, clear your head and make sure you know exactly what you’re going to be bowling.”

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