Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players
'Virat and Rohit are comfortable playing on front foot but...': Ex-Australia star on India duo's 'downfall' in England
Kohli has struggled for runs and hasn't scored a century for India in any format for almost three years. He hit 1 and 11 in the two Twenty20s and followed them up with another series of low scores (16 and 17) in the ODIs.
India heading to West Indies for a 50-over assignment without star players may bear less significance, but the away series presents an excellent opportunity to fringe players. Fresh from white-ball success in England, the Indians have rested some big names including all-format skipper Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli. The pair remains crucial for the national setup and a big knock is always due from players of Rohit and Kohli's calibre. While Rohit has struggled to convert his 30s, Kohli faces a nightmarish batting slump, having not scored a century for India in any format for almost three years. Also Read | 'I don't understand why selectors have rested Virat': Former India captain says Kohli's break 'sends a wrong signal'
Both Rohit and Kohli struggled against Reece Topley in the ODI assignment. The lanky seamer removed Rohit twice and accounted for the wicket of Kohli once in three games. It's no secret that Indian batters have been an easy target for left-arm pacers and former Australia spinner Brad Hogg has explained why it's been the Asian side's Achilles heel in the recent past.
“Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma get as forward as they can against Willey and they are comfortable playing on the front foot and driving him. But against Topley, who doesn’t bring it in as much as Willey and gets the extra bounce, they play from the body a lot more. And when it doesn’t come back in, it forces them to play away from the body, and that was their downfall," Hogg said on his YouTube channel.
“England had plenty of options in the previous ODI series against India and Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli struggled against one of them. But it was set up from the other one," he added.
Apart from Topley, David Willey also troubled Kohli, who was caught twice while poking a length ball outside off – first in the Twenty20 series and then in the ODI challenge.
“David Willey and Reece Topley were a very good combination. One, they have got variation in height, Topley is a lot taller than David Willey. But Willey swings the ball more and looks to go fuller than Topley," explained Hogg.
