Former India batter Mohammed Kaif said every bowler, irrespective of the number of matches he has played, knows where to target Virat Kohli. There has been a pattern to Kohli’s dismissals against pacers for quite some time now. Kohli has got out so many times to away-going deliveries outside the stumps that it is not even surprising anymore. Previously, it was blamed on where he was standing at the batting crease, but it is more about his forward press now. He somehow seems to get into a position of no return to good length deliveries that can be dealt with better if he doesn’t commit to the front foot so early.
Take his dismissals in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, for example. In the first innings in Perth, he got one that bounced awkwardly and took the gloves. It sure did, but was it an unplayable delivery? Certainly not by Kohli’s standards, at least. What got him into trouble was his forward press. He didn’t get enough time to get his hands out of the way on the fast Perth pitch. In relatively better conditions to bat in the second innings, Kohli took full advantage of the tiring Australian pacers with a masterful century – his 30th in Test cricket.
However, in the day-night Test in Adelaide, things again went back to the usual. In both the innings, Kohli was trapped with good length deliveries outside the off stump. In the first innings, he was once again guilty of committing to the front foot way too early and in the second innings, Scott Boland bowled a very good delivery in the corridor of uncertainty and got Kohli poking.
When asked about Kohli’s similar dismissals, Sunil Gavaskar went on to state that a batter who has got 30 Test centuries sure knows how to bat. He does, there are no second thoughts about it. But as Matthew Hayden quickly pointed out that it is all about making the right decisions. Kohli made the right choices in the second innings in Perth, where he aligned himself with the line of the ball instead of staying beside the line, which has brought about his downfall on countless occasions.
Kohli’s weakness highlighted by Kaif
Kaif said even Boland, who doesn’t find a place in the Australian XI regularly, knows how to get Kohli out. “A bowler like Boland who plays only two-three Test matches in a year… He comes, he knows exactly where to bowl to Virat Kohli. Just pith it outside the off stump, Kohli will fiddle with it. He will nick it and get out caught behind. This is an open secret,” he said in a video shared on his social media handles.
The former batter expressed his surprise that the Indian pacers could not exploit Travis Head’s weakness like the Aussies exposed Kohli’s.
“If Boland knows how to trap Kohli then why can’t we do the some for Travis Head?If his weakness is outside the off-stump, why don’t we consistently bowl there? Every batsman has weaknesses.”
“Everyone knows Virat Kohli’s weakness. You bowl it outside the off-stump and he will nick it. You’ll need to adopt the same strategy against Travis Head as well. You need to move ahead with proper planning. You need to attack him from the first ball; you need to make a fixed plan to exploit his weakness, and then you can get him out,” he added.
“We are making mistakes. I don’t believe this Australian team is so strong that we should be scared of them. We won the first match; Australia played well, so they won the second match, and now the series is 1–1. The Indian team is a strong side, and when we go to the Gabba, we will make a comeback.”
