JOIN USSunil Gavaskar explains why Virat Kohli is struggling off late in Test cricket
Virat Kohli is enduring poor form so far in ongoing India vs England Test series. While we are used to seeing Kohli scoring truckloads of runs, his willow is not really doing the margin against England.
In the second innings of the second Test, India was in a troublesome position when Kohli came out to bat. At 27/2, India had lost both their openers and had just equalled England's lead. While everyone expected Kohli to shine at Lord's and take the team to safety, he got out after scoring just 20 runs off Sam Curran's bowling. He got out nicking a ball outside off, a mode of dismissal that has become common when it comes to Kohli in recent times.
Former Indian batsman and legend Sunil Gavaskar explained why Kohli is struggling and also appeared to be doubtful about the intent shown by the Indian captain while batting. He said on the Sony Sports Network, "That method has been successful for him. He has got 8,000 Test runs with that back and across movement. But he is playing at deliveries way outside off stump and a little too early in the innings. This time around, the foot is somewhere else, the bat is somewhere else, which means that he hasn’t really played well. It could be about this much-talked-about word intent but in a five-day game, every batsman goes in to score runs. It’s the method that differs."
He also said, "When you talk about this 'trying to take this attack to the opposition' approach, and if that is what intent is, it can get you into trouble like we saw. I think every batsman should be left alone to find his own method. This is a Test match. In ODI and T20I, it’s a completely different situation, but over here, what they need to look into is get themselves in and try to play in the old-fashioned V. Play only when you have fought through."
India ended Day 4 at 181/6 in their second innings, leading England by 154 runs.