Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar opened up if Virat Kohli’s current dismissals are giving a deja vu of 2014 England horror. Kohli was yet again dismissed chasing an outside the off-stump delivery on Day 3 of the 3rd Test between Australia and India. Hazlewood showed no signs of rustiness, and he managed to induce Kohli’s outside edge who was dismissed for 3. This was the 11th time Hazlewood dismissed Kohli, the joint-most any bowler got the Indian batter. Gavaskar felt that Kohli was a young bloke when he toured England and couldn’t repeat the same mistakes a decade later.
“Kohli’s dismissal is being discussed because, in five innings so far, he’s been dismissed four times in similar fashion. It reminds me of his troubles in England in 2014. Back then, he was relatively new, and Anderson made the ball swing and talk, which made it tough for him. He was chasing deliveries outside off-stump – exactly what he did today.That’s the reason why India found themselves in a position like this. If he had stayed, India could have been in a much better position. That’s the reason why India found themselves in a position like this,” Gavaskar exclusively told India Today.
AUS vs IND 3rd Test Day 3 Highlights
Kohli’s recent struggles
Kohli’s weaknesses against outside the off-stump deliveries were exposed for the very first time during India’s tour to England in 2014. He managed only 34 runs in 10 innings, but in the same year made a stupendous comeback during the Australia tour.
Gavaskar recalled legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s 241 vs Australia in the Sydney Test in 2004. When Sachin was dismissed outside the off-stump 3 times prior to this innings and then did not choose to play any drive shot during his iconic innings.
“Kohli can look at Tendulkar’s approach. Sachin didn’t play anything on the offside and focused on playing straight or towards the onside. Maybe Kohli can take a leaf out of that book. Tendulkar has always been someone he admires, and this could help him get bigger runs in the next two matches.”
“Batting is not only about scoring runs”
Gavaskar criticised the Indian batting for not showing intent to stay at the crease as they found themselves in a troubled position of 45/4.
“The intent to score runs has to be there. Batting is all about scoring runs, but it’s also about staying at the crease. If you stay at the crease, the runs will automatically come. A couple of the shots we saw today, in fact, three of them, were pretty forgettable. The remaining batters must learn from those mistakes and aim to get to 246.”
