Virat Kohli’s 30th Test ton came in India’s second innings of the opening Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Perth, a knock that showcased his technical brilliance under challenging conditions.
Indian batting icon Virat Kohli arrived in Australia following a lean patch across formats, with doubts lingering over his form, particularly against spin on turning tracks. However, the former captain silenced his critics in spectacular fashion, scoring his first Test century since July 2023. Kohli’s 30th Test ton came in India’s second innings of the opening Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Perth, a knock that showcased his technical brilliance under challenging conditions.
Following India's emphatic 295-run win over Australia, legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar stated that a subtle adjustment to Virat Kohli's batting stance played a key role in helping him counter the Australian attack and regain his vintage form.
"His body was completely relaxed when he came into bat in the second innings. In the first innings, because of the fact that India had lost two wickets early, he would have also been under pressure," Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
"In that second innings, you could sense apart from changing that stance, I think he also got his legs, which were maybe just a little bit wider at the start. Just a little bit, maybe I'm thinking too much, but that little thing might have given him that height he wanted. Well, in Australia, on the bouncier pitches, you need that edge. I liked that mid-wicket boundary that he hit off Hazlewood. That, to me, was not the easiest of shots. A straight drive is a little easier because your stance is like that, but just to open up a little bit and play that - that was all magic," he added.
After being dismissed for just 5 in the first innings, Kohli applied all his technical expertise in the second innings, expertly handling the challenges posed by variable bounce. Australian bowlers resorted to a variety of tactics, including targeting the off-stump line, delivering short balls, and even attacking the stumps in an attempt to dismiss the veteran batter.
Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden also weighed in on Kohli's stance adjustments in the second innings, noting that adopting a more upright posture on a pitch with variable bounce proved to be an effective strategy for the Indian batter.
"It's a very good point because the reverse can be said also to someone touring to India and having to lower their stance. I know I certainly did that. But being able to be a little more upright means that your head position has to stay on top of the bounce so that it starts to work in your favour," he said.
"I said right from the start that I actually liked his move, batting in more line with the ball. I thought that was a good strategy. I think he loves to play like that, and we saw some classic cases where he just eased the ball through mid-wicket. But you can't do that from outside off stump, so getting into the line, I thought, was important," Hayden added.
"The other little adjustment that you mentioned, being a little more upright, so he could stay on top of the bounce, was also really important. If you're getting closer to the ball like he was -- another thing, I think, was probably playing the ball later. When he's not in his best form, he goes quite hard, feeling for the ball. He wants to feel the ball on the bat, particularly on the front foot. But he just seemed to give himself a little more time and be a little softer," the Australian noted.
Gavaskar likened Kohli's recent struggles to the periods when tennis greats like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic went without winning a title, highlighting how even the best go through lean phases before bouncing back.
"I said in commentary that Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafa Nadal, they are title winners. If they lose in the semi-finals, people say, 'Oh, they're not in form.' Anybody else getting into the semi-finals, you would say, 'Oh, what a wonderful performance'," he said.
"Similarly, with Virat Kohli, because everybody is so used to him scoring so many hundreds quite regularly, when he doesn't score 100, even if he's getting 70-80 -- which a lot of guys will be very happy to get -- people say, 'Look, he's not scoring runs.' And that is the reason why there was that feeling. But then again, Indian fans, they're greedy fans. They're not going to be happy with their idol scoring only 60-70s. They want their icons, their idols, to score hundreds, and that is the reason there was this little talk about, 'Oh, he hasn't got a hundred since July 2023.' July 2023 is just about a year ago," Gavaskar added.
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