Throughout the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Virat Kohli has stood out among both Indian and Australian batters in terms of being untroubled and steady on difficult pitches. Despite this, Kohli has consistently found a way to get out unexpectedly. This trend began during the second Test in Delhi, where he fell to a controversial LBW decision while batting on 44, and has continued through to the third Test in Indore. Kohli’s downfall seems to have been caused by a single mistake in each game of the series.
SHASTRI: VERY POOR SHOT SELECTION FROM VIRAT
During the second innings of the third Test in Indore, Kohli’s shot selection let him down in the 23rd over. He hit a four off Matthew Kuhnemann, but the next delivery proved costly. Kohli spotted the length quickly but failed to adjust his shot to the closer position of the ball. He squared up too much and tried to work the ball squarer, leading to it keeping a tad low and striking him in line with the stumps.
The umpire raised his finger, and Kohli, livid with his choice of shot, did not consult partner Cheteshwar Pujara for a review. Even if he had, the replay showed that the decision would have been upheld as the ball would have clipped the stumps. Kohli was dismissed for 13 and walked back to the pavilion.
Ravi Shastri during his commentary said:
“Poor shot selection. The ball wasn’t bouncing much, the better option would have been if he had targeted mid-on with a straighter bat.”
While Murali Karthik commented:
“He didn’t take the DRS tells me that he was very aware that he was too deep in his crease. He walked up to Pujara, who gave him a grin. I think it felt out to him.”
Except for Cheteshwar Pujara, the Indian batsmen struggled on a challenging pitch during their second innings. After getting out for mere 109 in 1st innings, India could only score 163 runs in the second innings. As a result, Australia has been left with a target of 76 runs to win the match on Day 3.
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