"Tough Pitch To Play Spin": Dinesh Karthik Backs Virat Kohli After Poor Show vs Sri Lanka

Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik believes there is nothing to worry about Virat Kohli's form in the 2-0 ODI series loss to Sri Lanka, saying life wasn't easy for rest of the visitors' batters on pitches aiding spinners to a huge extent. At the R Premadasa Stadium, the Indian batters struggled against Sri Lanka's spinners, leading to them suffering a bilateral ODI series loss to the hosts' after 27 years. The Sri Lankan spinners called the shots on the Colombo pitch by scalping 27 out of 30 Indian wickets in three matches.

"It's been a tough pitch to play spin in this series, let's admit that first. Be it Virat Kohli, be it Rohit Sharma, or be it anyone else. With the slightly semi-new ball between overs about 8 to 30, it's been hard work (for batters).

"It's 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 I can tell you that playing spin was very hard," said Karthik in a video on Cricbuzz.

He also highlighted the positives for India from the series which they can use in future, especially in build-up to 2025 Champions Trophy. “The biggest positive is the fact that India played all-rounders and bravely attacked. So that is something I really like, that is one. Number two, Riyan Parag, in his limited opportunities, is showing what he can do with the ball, which is again a small plus for us.”

"Other than that, I think Rohit's batting is itself. The way he starts in powerplay. He is making batting look too easy in the series. Batted beautifully. These were the positives for me from this series.

Karthik also addressed why Indian batters have an issue in playing against spin on slow pitches. "When you first