For Virat Kohli, it is a matter of striding out to the centre, taking guard, assessing the opponents, surveying the field and then peeling off centuries. The captain has already slammed two centuries in the ongoing series against Australia, he has motored on to 41 ODI centuries, he now averages over 60 in this format, and is currently, bossing this format like never before.
Yes, teams have tried to devise tactics to get rid of him early in his innings, but the Indian skipper has overcome everything which has been thrown towards him. Former Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne, who has seen Kohli move up the ranks, has a theory on how to contain Kohli.
“I think the one thing you need to do with Virat, which is one thing teams don’t do enough of, is take away both sides of the wicket,” Warne told ESPNcricinfo at end of the MCC World Cricket committee meetings.
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The former Rajasthan Royals skipper believed that teams need to be defensive in order to keep Kohli quiet and then take it from there.
“If you’re going to bowl to Virat Kohli, you either bowl at leg stump and protect the on side, or you bowl wide of off stump and you protect the off side. You cannot bowl at the stumps, because he can hit you both ways. So, I think you’ve to take out one side of the field. Protect just one side of the field, that’s how you bowl to very good players,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“If you’re going to bowl to Virat Kohli, you either bowl at leg stump and protect the on side, or you bowl wide of off stump and you protect the off side. You cannot bowl at the stumps, because he can hit you both ways. So, I think you’ve to take out one side of the field. Protect just one side of the field, that’s how you bowl to very good players,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Often hailed for his technical nous, Warne even emphasised on the fields he would employ and the lines he would prefer when Kohli walks out to bat.
“I’d be bowling wide of off stump and letting him try to cover drive with a slip, short cover and some protection out there. So then it’ll be very hard for him to get it over the leg side. That’s what I’d be trying to do and hopefully get a little bit lucky and he mis-hits one,” Warne assessed.
Kohli’s numbers have been mind-boggling since the start of 2016. He has scored 3985 runs in 59 ODI innings at an average of 88.55 and with strike rate of 99.52.