Sunil Gavaskar, a legendary Indian cricket player, shared his thoughts on how Virat Kohli got out on the first day of the day-night Test match against Australia at Adelaide Oval. Kohli, who scored a great century in the previous Test, was dismissed again by a short ball outside the off stump. Fast bowler Mitchell Starc bowled a delivery that rose sharply, and while Kohli hesitated about whether to play or let it go, he ended up edging the ball into the slips and was out for just seven runs.
Many people have criticized Kohli for not changing his batting style, especially given the bounce and pace of the pitches. He was out in a similar way during the first innings of the first Test in Perth. Former player Sanjay Manjrekar noted that Kohli’s Test average has dropped from over 50 to 48 partly because of his unwillingness to adjust his technique.
Gavaskar, however, defended Kohli’s approach, highlighting that he has scored over 9,000 runs and 30 centuries in Test matches using the same technique. He said he wouldn’t be too concerned about these two dismissals. “This has happened in Perth and now again. It’s part of the game. Yes, his high back lift might slow him down. But Kohli knows how to bat; he has 30 hundreds to prove it. He wasn’t lucky in Perth or this time. There’s lots of time left in the series,” said Gavaskar on Jio Cinema after the day’s play.
Former Australian player Matthew Hayden commented that Kohli made good decisions in his second innings in Perth. But in Adelaide, he went back to his old batting style, which led to trouble. “Conditions were tricky. In Perth, he was clear about his movements and played well. This time, he went back to his old stance and was caught off guard. He needs to get closer to the ball when it starts to swing,” Hayden explained.
At the end of the first day’s play, Australia was in a strong position, finishing the day at 86-1, while India was bowled out for just 180 runs in their first innings, with Mitchell Starc taking impressive figures of 6-48.
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