Virat Kohli not letting go off trademark cover drive, practices against Indian pacers, sidearm speciallist during Day 4 of Gabba Test; watch video

IND vs AUS: While KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja were fighting it out at The Gabba in first session, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill headed to the nets to fine-tune their technique.

Sports Tak

• Tue • 17 Dec 2024

Virat Kohli

Highlights:

Virat Kohli was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood in the first innings.

Kohli has had a poor run in first innings of Test cricket of late.

Kohli was dismissed chasing delivery way outside the off stump.

Dismissed cheaply in the first innings at The Gabba, Brisbane, Virat Kohli and his heir apparent Shubman Gill batted in the nets on Day 4 fine-tuning their technique. As KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja were sharing a crucial partnership, former India spinner and broadcaster Harbhajan Singh headed to the nets. Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana and sidearm speciallists were seen bowling to the two batters in the nets.

Kohli got out playing a cover drive off a delivery way outside the off stump. Josh Hazlewood dismissed him for a single-digit score. While there have been calls from former cricketers including Sunil Gavaskar for Kohli to curb his natural instinct to play a cover drive when the ball is pitched up, the veteran batter does not want to get rid of it like Sachin Tendulkar did two decades ago in Sydney.

"They have been hitting a lot of balls here. Why are they here? They haven't been scoring a lot of runs in this series. India need Virat and Gill to fire. It's so good to see them at the practice session even when Team India is batting out there. They are here in the nets, hitting a lot of balls. You can feel good by hitting a lot of balls. When you are not in form, you can feel better by hitting a lot of balls," Harbhajan told the broadcasters.

"I hope these practice sessions will bring what India needs in the middle," he added.

Kohli's struggle in first innings

Kohli has had trouble in the first innings of Tests played in the ongoing 2024/25 season. He has an average of 9.12 in the first innings of Tests starting with home series against Bangladesh. His highest first innings score is 47 against Bangladesh during this period. His only century of the calendar year came in the second innings of Perth Test.

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Gill's struggles in overseas Tests

On the other hand, Gill's CV in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and England) countries is weak since 2021. Barring the 91-run knock at The Gabba three years ago in the iconic run chase, he does not have a fifty-plus score in SENA countries.

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Gill got out in the first innings trying to chase a full delivery outside off which was angled in by Mitchell Starc. Mitchell Marsh took an excellent catch to send Gill packing. This was the first time Gill dismissed Starc in Test cricket.