Virat Kohli’s familiar foe came back to roost him on Sunday at Perth as he tried to drive the ball outside the off-stump and was caught behind. Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke felt that it was the extra bounce that induced the edge, and if the shot was played in India, the chasemaster would have definitely creamed it for a boundary.
“That muscle memory of just game after game, which he has done for 15 years, but then have six months off and play in very, very foreign conditions is hard. If his first game back was in India, I think he’s straight back into it. But because he’s in Australia, that shot he played, in India he cover drives that for four,” Clarke said speaking on Beyond23 Cricket Podcast.
“Here, it bounced and hit him a bit higher on the bat, he’s out in front of himself and gets caught at backward point. So, their top three, for them to get out like that, sort of sums up their play throughout the game. Their bowlers tried to get their lengths right and some mixups in the running, so they were just underdone,” he added.
Kohli will not allow the eight-ball duck on his return in India colours to haunt him for long, but would not tinker around too much with his game either before striding back into form, said former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. “Whatever time I have spent with him, he knows how to play in one way only, with passion and aggression. He will back himself. There will be a lot of discussions about him playing deliveries outside the off-stump. He will go back and visualise. He will meditate and come into his zone,” Nayar said on Star Sports.
“He will try to get back the thought process of the old vintage Virat Kohli. He will try to get that mindset. He will try to play with freedom. The result is not in your hands. He will pay attention to the process. Whatever he has been known for, he will try to bring that Virat to the ground,” Nayar elaborated.
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