NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara on Monday questioned Virat Kohli’s technique against the new ball following his dismissal in the ongoing Gabba Test.
Reflecting on the incident, Pujara noted that Kohli’s approach may not be fully equipped to handle the challenges posed by fresh, moving deliveries.
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While speaking on Star Sports, Pujara explained that the lacklustre performance of India’s top-order batters has contributed to Kohli’s modest showing in the current Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
“We were discussing that he has been forced to play the new ball. He has gotten out whenever he has played the new ball. When he played the old ball, he scored a hundred in Perth. So that’s also a very big point,” Pujara said.
“His technique is not made for the new ball. His batting should come after 10, 15 or 20 overs. If he plays the new ball, the bowlers are fresh, and their confidence is also high. When they get two wickets, the entire team is charged up. So when you come to bat at that stage, it’s not easy,” Pujara added.
Kohli’s brief stay in the middle yielded just three runs while India found themselves in a precarious position at 51/4 during their first innings on Day 3 of the third Test at Brisbane. Earlier in the day, the Australian side was dismissed for a total of 445 runs
In the first Test at Perth, while Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul forged an impressive 201-run opening stand, Kohli managed to notch up an unbeaten century. However, his performance in the remaining four innings has been underwhelming, with a total of just 26 runs, where he failed to reach double digits on three occasions.
Pujara observed that despite Kohli’s dedicated practice sessions in the nets, he has struggled to implement those techniques effectively on match days.
“When the bowling is happening in just one area, on the fourth to sixth stump, and he is playing that and getting out, it’s not a good thing. He understands that himself. We saw in the net session as well that he was leaving balls in that area, but that execution is not happening in the match,” he said.
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The seasoned Indian batter suggested that Kohli requires a bigger mental adjustment than a technical one. Throughout the current series, all of Kohli’s four dismissals have resulted in catches by the wicketkeeper or slip fielders. Josh Hazlewood has claimed his wicket twice, while Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland have each dismissed him once.
“In the match, for some reason, he wants to leave the ball but is unable to, and the bat is going there. So he will have to stop himself. He will have to change his mindset. There is a technical part that you are playing a delivery outside off-stump. However, if you have to leave the same delivery, it’s not a very big technical adjustment but he needs to make a bigger mental adjustment,” Pujara said.
