India vs England: Test drive

This was one meme that went viral during India’s previous tour of England in 2014. Still finding his feet in Tests, Virat Kohli was worked out by James Anderson & Co to such an extent that almost every time he nicked a ball, Alastair Cook pouched it in the slip cordon.

We’d all see the funny side of it, but as India gear up for one of their biggest challenges — their five-Test series against England — it will be an understatement to say that all eyes are on Kohli. An average of 13.40 in England doesn’t reflect Kohli’s true calibre, for he has scored runs at will in almost every other country. But it highlights his struggles when the ball moves around.

For someone with a balanced stance, Anderson exposed Kohli’s weakness in the off-stump channel, dismissing him four times in the 50 deliveries he bowled to the right-hander. As that tour progressed, it almost got to the point that Anderson just had turn up, land the ball in the corridor, and make it shape away to make Kohli — playing with hard hands and pushing at the ball — nick one to the slips.
When Anderson failed, Stuart Broad and Chris Jordan stepped up to replicate the algorithm that the pacer had perfected, extending Kohli’s woeful run.

Since then, a lot of water has flown under the bridge. Widening the gap between his feet during the Australia tour that followed England, Kohli went on to score four hundreds. Then, during the long 2016-17 home season, he again altered his stance. This time, he narrowed the gap between his legs, allowing him to play the ball closer to his body and under his eyes (especially fuller ones). But, what Kohli has also done in the mean time is maximise his forward press, an aspect that allows him to negotiate movement in the air or off the pitch.

“When he presses forward in his new stance, he can easily get to the pitch of the ball. Mind you, it is easier said than done. Because to take such a big stride against a 140kmph delivery, you need a lot of courage,” explains former India opener and cricket pundit Aakash Chopra.“But that is a chance Kohli takes because when you have a big stride and the ball is full, then it can be driven easily. If he does that, bowlers invariably start shortening their length. That in turn mitigates the swing factor.”

How Kohli brought about this change to his batting also makes for an interesting read. A reason behind his struggles against Anderson in 2014 — or even during India’s 2012 home season — was the lack of a forward press.This movement, suggested to Kohli by Sachin Tendulkar, has made the India skipper grow strength to strength since 2014.

“Although he had a balanced stance, the lack of forward press meant that he ended up playing away from his body. That’s bound to trouble any batsman in English conditions. But, in the last four years, he has experimented with two stances so that it doesn’t hamper his stroke-play,” Chopra points out.The wider stance — suggested by India coach Ravi Shastri — gave Kohli great balance, but at the cost of mobility.

Kohli subsequently realised that and worked with batting coach Sanjay Bangar. The end result was a stance with a reduced gap between his feet, coupled with a forward press. That allowed for good stability and better movement.

“A wider stance cuts out a lot of scoring opportunities. If you already have a big stride and are committed, it hinders backward movement. With his current stance, Kohli is able to make contact with the ball at least 2m away from the stumps. That’s because he presses forward a lot earlier and his hands are within his body when he plays the ball,” explains Chopra.

As it happens in cases where the spotlight is on one player, mindgames have already begun.Soon after arriving in England, Kohli said that he was not bothered about runs, insisting that he’d be happy if the team does well; perhaps to alleviate the pressure that’s piling up on him.But Anderson wasn’t buying it. “Kohli is desperate to score,” he said, while pointing out how the Indian had tweaked his technique to combat swing.Three days notwithstanding, their duel had already begun.

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