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Aakash Chopra has also observed that Virat Kohli is struggling a lot against short-pitch deliveries.
Virat Kohli has managed 126 runs so far in the ongoing series. (AP Photo)
Virat Kohli’s continual struggle against outside-off deliveries has become one of the major talking points of India’s ongoing tour of Australia. The problem was once again exposed in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy currently underway in Brisbane.
Kohli edged a delivery off Josh Hazlewood and ended up being caught behind by Alex Carey on Day 3 at The Gabba. The Indian batter managed only three runs off 16 deliveries.
Aakash Chopra feels Kohli could have left the ball alone considering his repeated failures against such deliveries that are pitched outside the off-stump. To make his point clear, Chopra pointed out the example of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar who once scored an unbeaten 241 in Sydney without attempting to play cover drive.
“I remember the Sydney Test match after Sachin Tendulkar was repeatedly getting out to deliveries outside the off-stump. Can Virat Kohli do that? He will have to do that because if he keeps getting out like this, the vulnerability will be exposed even more,” the former India opener said in a YouTube video.
Chopra also observed that Kohli was struggling a lot against short-pitch balls. He was almost caught and bowled by Hazlewood while trying to connect a back-of-the-length delivery. He was also baffled by a bouncer off Mitchell Starc.
“You know that he (Kohli) is not at the top of his game. So what is the road ahead?” Chopra asked.
Not only Kohli but the majority of the Indian batters failed miserably in the first innings of the Brisbane Test. KL Rahul was the standout player from the top order. He scored 84 runs off 139 deliveries. Besides him, Ravindra Jadeja also made a significant contribution to help India avoid the follow-on.
