A former Indian cricket star joked that even an infrequent bowler could dismiss Virat Kohli, just before the Gabba Test.

A former Indian cricket star joked that even an infrequent bowler could dismiss Virat Kohli, just before the Gabba Test.

4 months ago | 5 Views

Mohammed Kaif, the former Indian cricketer, mentioned that every bowler, no matter how many matches they've played, knows how to target Virat Kohli. There's been a noticeable trend in how Kohli gets out to pace bowlers lately. He’s been dismissed so often by deliveries moving away from him that it’s almost become routine. Initially, people pointed fingers at his stance in the crease, but now it seems more about his forward press. He often finds himself in a tough spot against good-length balls because he commits to the front foot too soon.

Take the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as an example. In the first innings in Perth, he faced a delivery that bounced unexpectedly and caught his gloves. It was a tricky ball, but not unplayable by Kohli's standards. His forward press was the issue; he didn’t have enough time to adjust on the quick Perth pitch. However, in the second innings, he capitalized on the tired Australian bowlers and scored a brilliant century, marking his 30th in Test cricket.

But then came the day-night Test in Adelaide, where things reverted to form. In both innings, Kohli fell victim to good-length balls outside off stump. In the first innings, he again went too far forward too early, and in the second, Scott Boland bowled a well-placed delivery that had Kohli reaching for it.

When discussing Kohli's recurring dismissals, Sunil Gavaskar pointed out that a player with 30 Test centuries definitely knows how to bat. That’s true, no doubt. Yet, as Matthew Hayden noted, it all boils down to making the right decisions. Kohli made the right calls in the second innings in Perth, aligning himself with the ball's line instead of straying away from it, which has led to his downfall many times before.

Kaif points out Kohli's vulnerability.

Kaif mentioned that even Boland, who doesn’t often make the Australian XI, knows how to dismiss Kohli. "A bowler like Boland, who only plays a couple of Test matches a year, comes in and knows exactly where to bowl to Virat Kohli. Just pitch it outside the off stump, and Kohli will nibble at it. He’ll edge it and get caught behind. It’s pretty much common knowledge," he said in a video on his social media.

The former batter was puzzled as to why Indian pacers haven’t taken advantage of Travis Head's weaknesses like the Aussies did with Kohli.

"If Boland can figure out how to trap Kohli, why can’t we do the same with Travis Head? If his weakness is outside the off-stump, why aren’t we consistently targeting that area? Every batsman has their flaws."

"Everyone knows Kohli's weakness. Bowl outside the off-stump, and he’ll edge it. We need to apply the same approach to Travis Head. It’s all about having a solid game plan. You’ve got to go after him from the very first ball; create a strategy to exploit his weaknesses, and you’ll get him out," he added.

"We're making errors. I don’t think this Australian team is so formidable that we should be intimidated. We won the first match; Australia played well to take the second, so now it’s 1–1. The Indian team is strong, and when we hit the Gabba, we’ll bounce back."

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