Virat Kohli’s struggles with the bat in Australia have been a subject of concern for his fans and analysts alike. In the first innings of the ongoing Perth Test BGT, Kohli was dismissed for just 5 runs, falling to Josh Hazlewood. It was a soft dismissal, as Hazlewood bowled a back-of-length delivery that Kohli opted not to play but the ball climbed steeply and brushed his bat offering a simple catch to Usman Khawaja in the slips. This is the 10th wicket of Virat Kohli Hazlewood has scalped in international cricket, his fourth wicket in Test matches.
His early dismissal added to the growing unease regarding Kohli’s form in Australia as he couldn’t repeat his usual dominance on Australian pitches. He had been disappointing in the previous Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand. Finally, with the first match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy underway, fans are getting restless about his consistency.
Virat Kohli’s dismissal patterns
There are some interesting trends in Kohli’s dismissal patterns if one looks deeper into this aspect. Australian cricketer Trent Copeland has stated that Kohli is dismissed rarely by LBW or clean bowled, which has happened with many players in difficult conditions. Kohli’s last dismissal on LBW in Australia was in 2012, in the Perth Test, by Ben Hilfenhaus.
Meanwhile, Kohli had faced 2,037 balls before being dismissed LBW, and before being clean bowled, he had faced 1,578 balls. These statistics tell that Kohli has generally avoided such type of dismissal but he was frequently dismissed for other modes.
In fact, as per the Wisden report, Kohli was dismissed for caught out on 13 occasions in Australia which constitutes about 93% of the overall dismissals in Australia. He was even run out once while batting at the Adelaide Test in 2020. Interestingly, he despite being a very potent batsman against the pull shot, Kohli has been more frequently targeted by the Australian bowlers who execute a strategy to create an imbalance off-side.
Bodyline bowling was rarely been used against him as the Aussie bowlers preferred to bowl outside stumps, other than on and to his body in about 94% of his deliveries. This tactical approach may be designed to exploit Kohli’s technique and his tendency to play at deliveries that are slightly wider.
More often than not, Kohli has been dismissed for Australia due to getting caught in the slips or at gully, which indicated his susceptibility to the short-pitched ball or deliveries that are forcing him to play at balls outside his off-stump. His inability to convert starts into big scores in Australia has raised questions about his adaptability on fast, bouncy pitches, which has remained his Achilles’ heel in the last few years.
Kohli’s recent form and his history of dismissals in Australia presents a story that is worrying for the Indian side. To come out successful in this series of Border-Gavaskar, Kohli needs to tackle these weaknesses, more so his looks for the ball outside his off stump. The challenge for him has always been navigating the challenging conditions of Australia, and with the prevailing pressures upon his form now, it will be imperative for him to find his rhythm amid these technical difficulties to deliver for his team.
It remains to be seen whether Virat Kohli will manage to break his Australian jinx and rediscover his prolific form in that country as the series progresses. For now, a recent dismissal and overall pattern only add to the mounting pressure on the Indian batsman to find a way through to conquer Australia’s challenging conditions.
| Venue | Year | Type Of Dismissal | Fielding Position |
| Perth | 2024* | Catch Out | Slip |
| Adelaide | 2020 | Catch Out | Gully |
| Adelaide | 2020 | Run Out | _______ |
| Sydney | 2019 | Catch Out | WK |
| Melbourne | 2018 | Catch Out | Leg Gully |
| Melbourne | 2018 | Catch Out | Third Man |
| Perth | 2018 | Catch Out | Slip |
| Perth | 2018 | Catch Out | Slip |
| Adelaide | 2018 | Catch Out | Short Leg |
| Adelaide | 2018 | Catch Out | Gully |
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