“He has looked promising... but that big knock hasn’t come” - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli’s worrying Test form
Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra has stated that while Virat Kohli has looked good in the middle in the ongoing Test series against Australia, he is due for a big knock in red-ball cricket.
Kohli overcame his poor form in white-ball cricket in the second half of 2022 with some stupendous batting performances. He was the third-leading run-getter in T20Is last year, smashing 781 runs in 20 matches at an average of 55.78 and a strike rate of 138.23.
The 34-year-old has, however, failed to translate his form into big scores in Test matches. He registered scores of 1, 19*, 24 and 1 in the two-match Test series in Bangladesh towards the end of 2022. In the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he has notched up scores of 12, 44 and 20.
Analyzing Kohli’s batting form in Test cricket, Chopra said on his YouTube channel:
“Everyone is waiting for a big knock from Virat Kohli. We are hoping it comes.
“In his last 12-13 Test innings, his highest has been 44. He has looked promising and it has often seemed like he will play a long innings, but that big knock hasn’t come. In the last Test, he looked good in the first innings, but got out early in the second.”
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#TeamIndia sharpen their catching skills ahead of the 3rd #INDvAUS Test in Indore. 👍 👍
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Since the start of 2022, Kohli has scored just 341 runs in eight Test matches at an average of 26.23. His last half-century in Test cricket came against South Africa in Cape Town in January 2022.
“Being five down for 140 is not a good thing” - Aakash Chopra on India’s inconsistency in batting
Although India are 2-0 up in the four-match series, Aakash Chopra reckons that the batting department is a concern. Pointing out that most of the batters, barring skipper Rohit Sharma, have failed to score big, he stated that the lower order has been bailing India out way too often.
Chopra opined:
“There are expectations of runs from Cheteshwar Pujara as well. I am not going to criticize Shreyas Iyer because he was dismissed in unlucky fashion in the first innings, but India need runs from the top five. Apart from Rohit Sharma, the others also need to score.
“Being five down for 140 is not a good thing. Every time Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin should not be bailing us out. They have been doing it, but it is better if so much responsibility does not fall on their shoulders.”
Rohit is the leading run-getter in the Test series with 183 runs, followed by Axar (158), who has notched up half-centuries in both matches. Jadeja has contributed 96 runs in two innings.