It is an open secret that Virat Kohli struggles a lot with spin. He has given his wicket a lot of times to names like Adam Zampa, Moeen Ali, Nathan Lyon, and Mitchell Santner. A lot of debutant spinners have been gifted with his wickets too. With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy breathing over the shoulder, it isn’t quite unexpected that Australia will sharpen Lyon against the right-handed batter who, eventually will be an important head in the host’s camp.
The former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar talked about Kohli’s fumbles against spin. He discussed possible ways to handle spin while speaking in the “Game Plan” of Star Sports. In the show, he said,
“Virat Kohli does not do two things due to which he faces a lot of difficulties against Nathan Lyon. One, he does not believe much in stepping out, he plays more from the crease and then he does not play the sweep as well.”
Bangar added,
“So where will he score runs against Nathan Lyon? So he will have to change his approach slightly. We have already seen in this season that he has used his feet slightly more, although he might have done it in the shorter format. He will have to do that.”
Virat Kohli will have to take a slightly aggressive approach: Bangar
Bangar further pointed out a few improvisations that Kohli could manage in his batting style. Those will help Kohli to tackle Lyon.
Bangar said,
“He (Kohli) will have to move a little towards an off-stump guard, so that he is able to cover the line better and he should not allow Nathan Lyon to bowl too many deliveries. He will have to take a slightly aggressive approach, then only you can threaten him slightly.”
Team India will face Australia to play the first Test on February 09. Nagpur’s Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium will host the first of the four. Rohit Sharma and his men are also looking to seal the spot for The 2021-23 World Test Championship, by winning the series with a better margin.
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