Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden has urged Virat Kohli to resist flashing outside off-stump, which is leading to his downfall in the recent past. Kohli was dismissed while chasing a wide delivery in the first innings of the third Test match against Australia at the Gabba, Brisbane after managing only three runs.
Barring scoring a century at Perth, Kohli has returned with scores of 5, 7, 11, and 3 in the ongoing Test series. Hayden wants Kohli to get in line of the ball and play down the ground to solve his Achilles Heel of meddling with the outside off-stump deliveries.
Matthew Hayden said on Star Sports, “There could have been magnificent wins, there could have been losses, there could have been spinning conditions, I mean, you can list off a hundred different areas where Virat Kohli, over his magnificent career, would have batted. But in Melbourne, he’s going to have a good batting track.”
“What he does need to do is find a way to continue staying at the crease. Flashing outside the off-stump is something that he’s going to have to resist. And I suggest – he gets in line with the ball a bit more and looks to play down the ground a little bit more.”
Hayden wants Kohli to follow Sachin Tendulkar’s footsteps and avoid playing the cover-drive like the Master Blaster did when he scored a magnificent 241* at Sydney on 2003-04 tour.
“I know he (Kohli) has a magnificent cover driver, but so did Sachin Tendulkar, and he put it away for a day. I sat in the gully licking my lips, thinking, you know what, this is magnificent, stubborn batting,” Hayden said in the same discussion.
“I didn’t look like getting a catch that day, and yet I felt like I was in the game that entire series. So, Sachin put away the cover drive, worked his way into the innings, hit off his legs beautifully, took on the spin, and addressed the areas of concern. He put a big cross through them and said, ‘Not on my watch today.’ Virat Kohli has got that personality, and I’m sure we’ll see it in Melbourne.”
The fourth Test match between India and Australia will be played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground from 26th December.
