Former Australian gun fast bowler Brett Lee has shared his disappointment after Virat Kohli had a mundane Test series against Australia. Kohli recently struggled to get going on the Australian tour, aggregating only 190 runs in five Test matches at an average of 23.75. In nine innings, Kohli was dismissed caught behind on eight occasions as his everlasting issue of meddling with outside off-stump deliveries once again troubled him.
The veteran batter scored a fine hundred at Perth but barring that knock, he could not deliver consistently. Earlier, Kohli could only manage 93 runs in three Test matches against New Zealand at an average of 15.50 despite playing at home. The talisman scored 99 runs in two Test matches against Bangladesh at an average of 33.
Brett Lee said on his YouTube Channel, “For me, it was very Un-Kohli like, you obviously get batsmen nick off occasionally or they’ll do something and they’ll make those differences in their actions and techniques but the thing with Virat Kohli. Unfortunately for him, he kept getting out the same way through the whole Test series. I think back to Perth, the second innings where he made a magnificent 100 and I thought okay, he’s in going himself in the first innings nicked off but now he’s back to his best, 100.”
Lee reckons Australia had a good bowling plan against Virat Kohli and they stuck to their guns.
“But after that, he was very slim pickings for Virat Kohli. I also think Australia had a very valid bowling plan to him, they researched him very very well. I think their preparation was very outstanding but unfortunately for Virat Kohli, he missed out other than one innings in Perth,” he added.
On the other hand, Lee believes that Virat Kohli looked mentally more prepared than Indian captain Rohit Sharma, who could only manage 31 runs in five innings at an average of 6.20.
Lee added, “I don’t think so that they were mentally not well prepared. I think Rohit Sharma more than Kohli but I was watching Kohli very very closely throughout the whole series and to me, he [Kohli] looked very engaged, he looked like he was certainly applying all those skills that have made him such a great batsman. And, he’s still such a great batsman. But unfortunately for Kohli, he couldn’t get those runs.”
Both Rohit and Kohli are expected to be part of India’s squad for England ODIs at home.
