Virat Kohli is currently experiencing a tendency to edge the ball rather than make contact with the middle of his bat. Is this a noteworthy development? Certainly not. However, it raises concerns. Kohli has shown a persistent inclination to play at deliveries outside the off-stump, a vulnerability that the Australian team has exploited effectively. On Day 1 of the fifth Test in the India vs Australia series for the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Kohli was dismissed to the slips once more—marking the fourth occasion he has fallen to Scott Boland in six innings, and the seventh time he has been caught behind. Notably, all of Kohli's dismissals have occurred via catches behind the wicket.

Boland has previously dismissed Kohli in the second innings of the Adelaide Test, the first innings of the Melbourne Test, and now in Sydney. Additionally, Boland had success against Kohli two years ago during the World Test Championship final at Lord's. As Boland continues to dominate Kohli, the Australian pacer, who is filling in for the injured Josh Hazlewood, shared insights into the strategy employed when bowling to the former Indian captain.

"He tends to leave a lot of balls, but once he settles in, he wants to engage with the deliveries. Therefore, once he is established, we adjust our lines slightly to the fifth stump, and it has been effective thus far," he remarked at the conclusion of the day's play, with Australia at 9/1, trailing India (185 all out) by 176 runs.

Scott Boland's position among the bowlers who have dismissed Virat Kohli the most frequently

Boland, aged 33, still has considerable progress to make in the rankings of bowlers who have achieved notable success against Kohli in Test matches. At the pinnacle of this list are James Anderson and Nathan Lyon, each with seven dismissals, followed closely by Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes, who have dismissed him six times each. Additionally, Stuart Broad, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Kagiso Rabada, Peter Siddle, and Mitchell Starc have each managed to dismiss him on five occasions.

On this day, Boland once again emerged as Australia's premier bowler, concluding with figures of 4/31, which included the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Nitish Reddy, the centurion from the Boxing Day Test. This remarkable performance also marked Boland's achievement of 50 Test wickets for Australia. With a total of 15 wickets, he ranks as the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the series, trailing behind Jasprit Bumrah (31), Pat Cummins (22), Mitchell Starc (18), and Mohammed Siraj (16).

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