"He was more disciplined today" - Batting coach Vikram Rathour explains how Virat Kohli broke his bad patch in 3rd India vs South Africa Test
Team India's batting coach Vikram Rathour admitted on Tuesday that Virat Kohli was "more disciplined" with his batting in the third Test against South Africa.
Kohli broke his string of middling performances with a top-drawer 201-ball 79 in Cape Town. He carried out his confident strokeplay from the previous two Tests, but was also prepared to leave balls outside the off-stump and wait for his chances. His knock helped India to a decent first-innings total of 223 runs.
Speaking to the press after the day's play, Rathour said that despite the skipper not converting his starts in Centurion and Johannesburg "there was never a concern" about his batting. He remarked that with some luck, with regards to support from the other end, Kohli might have even been able to get his 71st international ton.
Rathour said:
"There was never a concern with the way he was batting. He was always batting well. As a batting coach, I was never concerned that he's not batting well. He was looking very good in the nets, he was looking very good in the games, he was also getting starts. One good change today was that he was more disciplined today... he looked really good, really solid and with a bit more luck he could have converted it into a big one. I am happy with the way he played today."
When asked if there was a conscious effort or some chat by the support staff to make sure that the 33-year-old didn't chase wideish deliveries, Rathour attributed such dismissals to a "lapse of concentration". He said Kohli was only asked to be more 'selective' with his cover drive, which helped him on Tuesday.
Rathour added:
"It (leaving deliveries outside off-stump) really depends on how they were bowling. They bowled really, really well initially to him. They were very disciplined and he had to bat like that. He didn't get any balls to drive, cut or pull. So that's how he responded... It (playing the ball outside off-stump) is not a conscious thing, it's just a lapse in concentration - where he played the wide delivery for a cover drive that was just a lapse in concentration for fraction of a second. Nothing else, I mean, he still played the cover drive [today], looked really solid, but picked the right balls. So that's what the conversations about that maybe he needs to be more selective for that shot."
It's very special to see the greatest of talents and stroke makers dig in, play hard and find ways to survive long periods of time to achieve greatness.
Good going @imVkohli 👑
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Although Kohli once again lost his wicket while over-reaching for a good length ball from Kagiso Rabada, it was more about him trying to collect some runs than a concentration lapse. India were eight wickets down at the time and the skipper perhaps had no option but to try and force the pace of the innings.
Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara are trying a few things: Vikram Rathour on duo's technical changes
That will be STUMPS on Day 1 of the 3rd Test.
South Africa 17/1, trail #TeamIndia (223) by 206 runs.
Scorecard - bit.ly/SAvIND-3rdTest #SAvIND https://t.co/PZx8Lil2gM
Rathour denied any major technical changes for Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara (43 off 77) for the innings. However, he admitted that the duo have made some minor adjustments, like Pujara shifting his guard from middle and leg stump to leg stump.
Rathour concluded by saying:
"There are always a little bit of adjustments here and there. Of course, there are discussions if somebody is looking for some adjustments but no, no major changes. I think when you are playing international cricket you can make technical adjustments...They always happen and they (Pujara and Kohli) are trying a few things. Pujara has gone from a middle-leg (guard) to leg in his stance and that's helped him a little I think."
India got the prized wicket of Proteas captain Dean Elgar before stumps, leaving South Africa at 17-1, 206 runs behind India's first-innings total.