India's star batter Virat Kohli started the series in style with a century in the second innings of the Perth Test but he was dismissed cheaply in both innings of pink-ball Test. Kohli has been troubled by the back of the length deliveries, edging them to slip cordon. After the 10-wicket defeat in Adelaide, Kohli walked in to nets to make the necessary changes in his game ahead of the Gabba Test. Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh observed that Kohli is focusing on playing on the back foot more to avoid such dismissals in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
"Yes, whatever little I have seen him batting in the nets today. I have played a lot of cricket with him. He is a front foot player. Knowing the bounce on Indian soil, you have to be on your front foot. The people who have played here, the likes of Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Langer, Hayden. They were good back foot players because of the bounce. It is the kind of bounce you get in Australia, you have to be good player of bounce. You need to have a good back foot game. That's what he was practising," Harbhajan told Star Sports.
Kohli identifies flaws in his technique
Kohli has struggled to get his bat away from the ball just outside the off stump whether it is by shouldering arms or dropping his wrists. The extra bounce has got the better of him. Harbhajan is happy that Kohli immediately recognised the flaws in his game for the Australian conditions and prepare accordingly.
"Specifically I have noticed today. He was playing a lot of deliveries on the backfoot. He was going forward for the fuller ball but the balls which were pitched slightly shorter than the length ball, he was either leaving or trying to play them. The ball from the back foot, he knows that Gabba will be a different wicket where he will get to face a lot of bounce and pace and that back foot game needs to be included in his game. Good to see him working on the game. I am sure, knowing Virat Kohli, we have seen him making a comeback after every setback," he added.
Kohli's only appearance at The Gabba in whites
The last time Kohli played at The Gabba was a decade ago. In 2014, Kohli edged one to wicketkeeper Brad Hadding off Josh Hazlewood's bowling. He scored 19 runs from 27 balls. In the second innings, he was knocked over by Mitchell Johnson. He was not part of the iconic Gabba win on the last tour as he left after Adelaide debacle for the birth of his first child.
