Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar reckoned that Virat Kohli needs to score some runs and overcome his "weakness" of playing on outside off-stump deliveries ahead of the fifth Test match of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Morden day great Kohli is currently going through a lean patch in his Test career. The 35-year-old smashed an unbeaten ton in the first Test match against Australia but he failed to get the momentum and got out playing off-stump delivery throughout the four Tests.
Manjrekar believes that it's high time for Kohli to overcome his problem of getting dismissed on an off-stump delivery and score runs in the upcoming fifth Test.
"It's time that he not only got runs but got out in a different fashion to show that he's overcome that problem. I've never seen somebody with the kind of performance and impact that Virat Kohli had on Test cricket have this kind of weakness," Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo.
"I don't think any other top-class batter has had this. There may have been a patch where somebody has got out repeatedly in a fashion, but this has gone on for far too long," he added.
India and Australia are currently in Sydney and preparing for the last Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy which is scheduled to take place at Sydney Cricket Stadium from January 3 to 7. Australia are currently leading 2-1 after defeating Rohit Sharma & Co. by 184 runs in the fourth Test match played at Melbourne Cricket Stadium in Melbourne. The upcoming Test match is important for both teams to seal their spot for the World Test Championship (WTC) final which will take place in June. Australia are just a win away from sealing their berth and on the other hand, India needs to win the Test match to stay in the race for the WTC final.
If India managed to defeat Australia in Sydney then their chances for the WTC final depend on Australia's upcoming Test assignment against Sri Lanka.