"Try and hone in on what Sachin Tendulkar did at the SCG"- Adam Gilchrist's advice to Virat Kohli after twin failures in 2nd BGT 2024-25 Test
Former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist advised ace batter Virat Kohli to take a page out of Sachin Tendulkar's famous 241* at Sydney in 2004 to overcome his outside off-stump troubles. Gilchrist's remarks came after Kohli endured twin failures in the second Australia Test at Adelaide, which India lost by ten wickets.
The 36-year-old nicked off to deliveries outside off-stump in both innings off Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland. Kohli has historically been troubled in Tests by that line against pacers despite his stellar record.
Gilchrist talked about Kohli's struggles on Cricbuzz. He said via India Today:
"The biggest battle, is not with what's coming towards you from the bowler or the skill of the opposition, it's more about battle between your ears. So, not suggesting that Virat scrambled any sense, but maybe he's got to try and hone in on what Sachin Tendulkar did at the SCG. And say 'right he'd say, right, I'm not gonna go chase anything outside off stump. You come to me.' You just play the patience game."
For the uninitiated, Tendulkar was going through a similar by nicking balls outside off-stump to be dismissed in the first three Tests of the 2003-04 Border-Gavaskar Trophy down under.
However, the legendary batter willed himself to completely shutting off the cover drive in the series finale at Sydney. Tendulkar scored a sensational 241* off 436 deliveries in that contest as India piled on 705/7 in their first innings en route to a drawn outing.
"He's carried the weight of expectation since U-19 level, entering the IPL and becoming the icon that is" - Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist backed Virat Kohli to be mentally tough and play the patience game in the upcoming Tests against Australia.
The veteran batter scored a magnificent unbeaten century in the second innings of the first Test at Perth to break out of a form slump. However, the twin failures at Adelaide have reignited the talks about Kohli's Test form over the past few years.
"He's got enough experience under his belt to know that he's mentally tough. He's carried the weight of expectation since U-19 level, entering the IPL and becoming the icon that is," Gilchrist said in the same interaction.
"He should be able to say to himself, I'm going to do what's within my capacity to do the best thing for the team and if it's a long patient game, so be it. If you play long enough, you're probably gonna have to evolve in different ways and this might be an opportunity for Virat to do that," he added.
Despite missing out on three of the four innings in the ongoing series, Kohli still averages an impressive 52.67 in Tests Down Under.
With the series nodded at 1-1, he will look to bounce back in the crucial third Test in Brisbane, starting Saturday, December 14.