IND vs ENG 1st Test – Virat Kohli Lean Patch: It has been 622 days and counting since India captain Virat Kohli last hit a century. But more than the century, his lean patch with the willow is becoming a huge worry for Team India. On Thursday, he spent just 2 minutes on the crease nicking the very first ball he faced off James Anderson, leaving India in a heap of trouble – Follow India vs England 1st Test LIVE Score & Ball by Ball updates on InsideSport.co
IND vs ENG 1st Test: 622 days since captain Virat Kohli hit his last century, lean patch now becoming huge worry for Team India
Virat Kohli Lean Patch: The golden duck on Thursday wasn’t a one-off. In fact, in the last five innings, Virat Kohli has scores of 27, 0, 44, 13, 0 — including the golden duck on Thursday. It’s a repeated pattern that has both the teams and fans wanting more of his innings. Furthermore, the highest score he has got is 74 against Australia in Adelaide since his last century that came 15 innings ago against Bangladesh in 2019.
IND vs ENG 1st Test: Since his last century and during this nearly two-year period, Virat Kohli has had a massive dip in form considering his standards. Before the century against Bangladesh, he maintained an enviable average of 54.35 with 26 centuries. But since the Eden Gardens pink-ball Test, his form has gone downhill, managing three ducks in 15 innings apart from 3 single-digit scores.
His poor form in Test, combined with Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane both also struggling with their forms, which is becoming a huge concern for Team India. With the top-3 batsmen in the middle-order struggling, it has put a lot of pressure on the openers besides Rishabh Pant at No 6.
Also Read: IND vs ENG 1st Test: KL Rahul back with a bang, grabs opportunity with both hands with a fifty
IND vs ENG 1st Test: Virat Kohli’s lean patch worrying India –
- Since his last century, Kohli has averaged just 23.00 in 15 innings
- His last 15 innings include 3 ducks and 3 single-digit scores.
- He has only three half-centuries in 622 days
- He has scored below 10 six times, below 20 four times, below 30 once and below fifty once.
- All formats combined, Virat Kohli has not hit a century in his last 47 innings, a big problem for a batsman of his calibre.
| Virat Kohli Before his last century | Virat Kohli after his last century | |||
| Match | 83 | Match | 9 | |
| Innings | 140 | Innings | 15 | |
| Runs | 7066 | Runs | 345 | |
| Average | 54.35 | Average | 23 | |
| Top score | 254* | Top score | 74 | |
| 100/50 | 26/22 | 100/50 | 0/3 | |
| Ducks | 10 | Ducks | 3 | |
| Single Digit Score | 26 | Single Digit Score | 3 | |
IND vs ENG 1st Test: Virat Kohli’s lean patch worrying India: With Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane out of form, Virat Kohli is someone who needed to come to the fore after Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul set the platform with a fantastic 97-run opening stand. But Virat Kohli could not deliver.
“It was a beautiful delivery from James Anderson. But you would expect from someone like Virat Kohli to show some discipline early on, especially to Anderson. It’s not sudden that Anderson is bowling a magical spell. You expect that and prepare yourself accordingly. I think he should have just left the delivery but he went towards the ball and opened the face of the bat and that’s why got out,” VVS Laxman said of Virat Kohli’s dismissal on ESPN Cricinfo.
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