Ominous signs for Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25? You don’t expect Virat Kohli to be clean bowled by a low full toss by Mitchell Santner. But that’s exactly what happened in Pune. After a 9-ball duck on a spicy day one deck in Bengaluru, Kohli came back strong with a brisk 70. Having failed to score a half-century in 2024, the signs were good. Two New Zealand Tests were remaining, and then the BGT.
Kohli pays full toll for missed full toss
All those plans for strong returns have been dashed. What we saw in Pune wasn’t like a regular Test dismissal but rather looked like a T20 departure. A full-toss ball that Kohli somehow made into a yorker by going for an ugly hoick on the leg side. There was a hint of drift on the delivery by Santner, but it wasn’t a wicket-worthy ball.
“This is unusual from Virat Kohli; normally he doesn’t play like this,” quipped Ravi Shastri on air. What the former Indian head coach said was correct. It’s unlike Kohli. He hardly goes for a big shot in the first 10-20 balls, even in ODI cricket, and yet here he’s going for a hoick on his ninth ball. Does it indicate a lack of clarity in his mindset or perhaps internal/external pressure?
Of course, much credit goes to New Zealand captain Tom Latham. To put pressure on Kohli, he packed the off-side and even put a forward short leg. Then Santner did what he was supposed to do—bowl in the middle and off stump. Kohli erred, and New Zealand struck. It also exposed Kohli’s weakness against spin in India.
Virat Kohli’s record vs spin
Since 2021, Kohli has been dismissed by spinners 19 times in 22 innings. Yes, only thrice have the pacers dismissed him in the last three years in India. It’s also the fact that he’s fallen so down from before that one can’t fathom it. He averaged nearly 75 against spinner until 2020 and since he’s at 30.
| In India | Inns | Runs | Avg | Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Until 2020 | 54 | 1866 | 74.64 | 25 |
| From 2021 | 22 | 573 | 30.20 | 19 |
One might have to start fearing about Nathan Lyon. Kohli currently averages a whopping 75.6 (overall), but it goes up to 105.7 in Australia. But if he’s going to innocuous deliveries in Pune, how will he do in Perth? Right now, the former skipper isn’t inspiring any confidence. The pitch in Pune will only get worse for batters with time. It’ll start spinning more and more. Already we are seeing balls keep a touch low from time to time.
Kohli has happy memories of playing in Australia. He averages 54.08 Down Under, but he hasn’t played there since December 2020, and we don’t know how the past prime version of Kohli would be in Australia now. He averages a touch above 40 in 2018-2018 BGT and given the trend this year, keeping high hopes might be wrong.
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