‘Can’t believe a player of Virat Kohli’s calibre…’: Mark Waugh’s startling reaction to the dismissal of the former India captain

With 41 innings played, Virat Kohli has now gone 1195 days without a Test century. His most recent century came in a pink ball Test match in Kolkata against Bangladesh in November 2019. Since then, he has played red-ball cricket and averages 25.70, with a maximum score of just 79. His lengthy dry spell in this format has caused his average, which was close to 55 until November 2019, to fall to 48.12. For someone of Kohli’s stature, such a drastic drop is unexpected, unprecedented, and out of the ordinary. However, there is something that these figures fail to depict. They fail to mention how at ease Kohli appeared to be during the majority of his brief stays in the middle over the past three years. They fail to mention how it only took one error, occasionally a contentious umpire decision, or an absolutely flawless delivery to end his innings.

It is simple to conclude that Kohli hasn’t been playing well based solely on his recent statistics, but it would be very challenging to identify technical errors in his batting. Although Kohli still has a tendency to poke at balls that are well outside the off stump and appears to be vulnerable to finger spinners, there hasn’t been much wrong with his batting that can truly explain why he hasn’t amassed a significant total for such a long time.

He once more appeared promising in India’s second inning on a challenging Indore pitch, but he was once more dismissed for 12. It only took one error for Matthew Kuhnemann to lose. Instead of trying to hit the ball square of the wicket on the on-side, he might have done better to play it straighter.

Former Australia batter Mark Waugh said on Fox Cricket, “I cannot believe a player of his class has gone that long without a century.

“He’s been playing well lately, and he’s done well at the plate in one-day cricket. Even though it’s not a Test match, his last three innings in Test cricket have shown that he’s actually playing quite well.

“He’s distributing the ball well, keeping good tabs on it, and his defence is solid. He’s just making the odd error and it’s proving costly for him. He hasn’t had much success. If he makes one mistake, he is eliminated.

He is a world-class athlete, and I believe that he is close to reaching the century mark. He is definitely feeling the pressure. When he stands there in the middle, I get the impression that he is a little tense.

“He actually does play with quite hard hands, and he likes to feel bat on ball,” Waugh continued. He simply played that strike in the first innings too squarely; if he had played it to mid-on, he would have been fine. Instead, he played it around his front pad.

He does have a tendency to plant his front foot, which is technically inappropriate in India. He has played back in the crease a few times, which is a position that works well against slower pitches. There is no obvious weakness, but it seems like he only needs to make one mistake to disappear.

Brad Haddin, a former Australian wicketkeeper, said on Fox Cricket that Virat Kohli was excellent in that first innings and appeared to be in complete control. Then he made another error: he played with his front pad. To bat for extended periods of time on this surface requires a little luck.

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