3 ways Virat Kohli can rediscover lost form
Former India captain Virat Kohli was dismissed for 8 off 4 balls in the first ODI of the three-match series against West Indies in Ahmedabad. It was very unlike Kohli's knock as the No.3 batter tried to take on the bowler right from the word go. He managed to find two boundaries off Alzarri Joseph. However, he was dismissed by the Windies pacer in the same over, attempting another aggressive stroke.
The 33-year-old has been among the runs in ODI cricket. In fact, he has nine fifties in his last 15 one-day innings, stretching back to January 2020. Despite being consistent with his performances, he has not looked at his fluent best.
Kohli hit two half-centuries in South Africa but his strike rate was below par at 76.32. His mode of dismissals were also worrying as he appeared to be in a confused state of mind.
Can Virat Kohli find form with any of the below methods?
As the former India captain looks to rediscover his lost touch, we analyze three ways in which he can find his mojo back.
#1 Adopt a simple approach
It is often said that when things are not going your way, it is best to keep things simple. In the first ODI against West Indies, Kohli came out with the mindset to attack.
But he was going at balls without judging their merit. While he managed to get a couple of boundaries away, his dismissal wasn’t surprising in the end.
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The batter was never in control of his innings as he did not look to apply himself. Instead, it might be better for him to adopt an uncomplicated approach and play each delivery on its merit.
He has the strokes and the technique to deal with any challenge thrown at him. As such, Kohli would do well to utilize the same to the best of his ability.
#2 Show controlled aggression
One down, two to go. 🇮🇳 https://t.co/SuwLko0zov
Another approach Kohli can adopt is to show controlled aggression. If he feels that he is not able to score quickly enough by playing deliveries on its merit, he can pick and choose his bowlers and strokes. This is a method the star batter used to great effect during his prime. He could use his wrists to manipulate the gaps and unsettle bowlers.
The risk with this approach, though, is that Kohli might not be confident of pulling it off given his current state of mind. We saw in South Africa that he got out attempting the sweep once and was in no position to play the stroke.
Even in the first ODI against West Indies on Sunday, he looked in no control at all as he tried to take on the bowling. But if Kohli can find a way to minimize the risk even while maintaining a positive approach, the ploy might work, as it did in the past.
#3 Go all out and hope for some luck
Kohli's third option is the riskiest of all - to go on an all-out attack and hope that the rub of the green goes his way. This is exactly what the 33-year-old tried in the first one-dayer against West Indies. The ploy backfired but it was just one game so the former captain might be tempted to give it another go.
Being ultra-aggressive is not something that comes naturally to Kohli. But if nothing else is working, he might as well try and play like Virender Sehwag or Adam Gilchrist. If he has luck and it comes off, then well and good.
Else, he can shift back to the other approaches and see how it works all over again.