The manner in which Virat Kohli was dismissed in Adelaide has gotten his former teammate Ravichandran Ashwin worried. The modern great had to walk back to the pavillion for another duck. Perhaps had he scored a double-digit score, people wouldn’t have reacted in a similar manner. But for Ashwin, more than the lack of runs, it was the way of dismissal that was the issue.
Kohli’s poor dismissal
Walking into the middle with India at 17/1 in 6.1 overs, Kohli last just 4 balls. Everyone knows that the 36-year-old has got a outside off weakness and that’s where Xavier Bartlett started. But he bowled a straight ball which got Kohli pinned in front of the wicket and walked back without even thinking about taking a review.
Ashwin thinks that Kohli didn’t read the ball right. The way he defended was a sign that the veteran batter isn’t match fit at the moment. That’s where criticism of people saying that Kohli should have been playing more cricket or come to Australia earlier sounds true.
“Today, I was a little shocked by the way Rohit survived the first phase of the game and how Virat got out. The commentators were explaining how Bartlett set Virat up. He was bowling in the early 130s and getting good outswing. He bowled two outswingers and then straightened his line to get Virat out LBW.
One thing I would be worried about is that Virat actually missed the line of the ball. If we see it again, Virat planted his foot in line with the ball. That is telling me that Virat probably needs more time in the middle to get his rhythm going. I think he would be thinking very deeply about how he has been dismissed in the last 2 innings,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
