Virat Kohli fell to an outside off delivery yet again on Saturday in Adelaide. (Reuters)
Australia seamer Scott Boland had Virat Kohli tied down in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Adelaide on Saturday, dismissing him in a fashion the former India captain has seen one too many times.
The fourth-stump delivery snared Kohi once again, pitching at a good length and nipping away slightly. Kohli, looking to defend the ball, found himself poking hard at the pink ball as it safely cushioned into Carey’s gloves. Kohli’s departure for 11 off 21 deliveries left India three down with a little under 10 overs to go to stumps on Day 2.
This has been a constant mode of dismissal for Kohli over the years, with the slip-cordon behind him always ready for a ball flying towards them. Even though it hasn’t happened a lot this year, the weakness persists.
In the first Test against Bangladesh in September, Kohli attempted to drive a ball well outside the off-stump, but it tickled the edge to find wicket-keeper Litton Das. When New Zealand toured India soon after, it was spinners Glenn Phillips and Ajaz Patel who caught the outside edge of Kohli.
Coming into the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australia had their plan set in stone for India’s No. 4, who bats in an elevated zone Down Under. The first Test in Perth had Josh Hazlewood pitching the ball slightly short, the bounce surprising Kohli. Kohli tried his best to move away from a rising delivery while batting outside the crease but could not prevent an edge that flew to Usman Khawaja in the slips. Despite his second-innings in Perth, the story repeated in Adelaide, as Mitchell Starc swung the pink-ball away to put Kohli under the pump. In the process of deciding to leave the ball or not, Kohli presented the outside edge as it passed on to the slips, yet again.
One important reason why Virat’s average has slipped to 48 now, is the unfortunate weakness outside off. But more crucially his adamance to not try another way to tackle it.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) December 6, 2024
An in-form Boland picked two crucial wickets, having previously removed opener Yashasvi Jaiswal with his first ball this evening. A top-order collapse meant India finished the day on 128 for five, 29 short of Australia’s first-innings lead.
