Perth, Nov 28: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar feels a subtle adjustment to his batting stance in the second innings of the Perth Test helped Virat Kohli neutralized the Australian attack and rediscover his vintage form.Kohli arrived in Australia after a lean run of form across formats in recent months. His struggles against spin on turning tracks raised doubts about his spot in the team.
However, he silenced his detractors by scoring his 30th Test ton in the first Test at Perth. It was his first hundred after the 121 against the West Indies at Port of Spain in July 2023.
“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 Virat Kohl Hazelwood. 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.”
Having gotten out on 5 in the first innings, Kohli brought all his technical expertise into play while dealing with the vagaries of variable bounce in the second essay as Australian bowlers desperately tried the off-stump line, short ball tactic and even attacking the line of stump to get the veteran batter out.