Virat Kohli made a strong start to his innings in his 100th Test but his struggles against spin came back to haunt him when a delivery turning away beat Kohli's outside edge and struck the stumps, ending his innings on 45. Prior to the dismissal, Kohli had hit a series of confident strokes and was rotating strike with relative ease alongside Hanuma Vihari, who scored an impressive half-century (58).
Kohli is playing in his 100th Test and might have another chance to score big in his landmark game, but former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir insisted that the problems for Kohli, as well as other India batters, are deeply-rooted when it comes to facing spinners. Speaking on the post-Tea show on Star Sports on Day 1 of the first Test, Gambhir said that the Indian batters need to revisit their basics.
“One of the major concerns is that the bat is in the line of pads. When that happens, it is difficult to play deliveries that turn away as well as those that don't turn,” Gambhir noted.
“If you keep your bat ahead of your pad, you will be beaten only on one edge. When you look at Mayank Agarwal's dismissal, he was beaten on the inside edge. In Virat Kohli's case, he was beaten on the outside edge. So, it is very important to have your bat ahead of your pad.”
{{/usCountry}}“If you keep your bat ahead of your pad, you will be beaten only on one edge. When you look at Mayank Agarwal's dismissal, he was beaten on the inside edge. In Virat Kohli's case, he was beaten on the outside edge. So, it is very important to have your bat ahead of your pad.”
{{/usCountry}}Gambhir said that India's preparations on facing fast bowlers, coupled with an excessive amount of limited-overs cricket has drifted the batters further away from the basics.
“This is usually taught in formative years. Nowadays, you play so much limited-overs cricket that you lose your basics, the good habits die down. You've concentrated significantly on fast bowling, so I believe Indian batters have a scope for improvement in tackling spin,” said Gambhir.