Virat Kohli didn’t have a good outing against Bangladesh in India’s opening clash in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. He didn’t look in control or in swing during his 38-ball stay in the crease as he managed to score only 22 runs.
India were in a positive zone as they were batting on 112-2 before Kohli holed one Rishad Hossain delivery to the backward point region. That ended Kohli’s short-lived chase that was marred by struggle and mistimed shots.
Former Indian cricketer and cricket pundit Robin Uthappa has stated that Virat Kohli is more worried about middling the ball rather than scoring runs with intent.
“Virat, the great batter that he is, will have to address himself because, I think in a sense he’s in his head a little bit. It feels like that from the outside. It feels like he’s looking to middle the ball versus when he actually is batting well, he’s looking to get runs. He’s not worried about middling the ball because the intent itself is different. And I think he’s trying to break free from that space of trying to middle the ball versus scoring runs and he’s finding himself caught in between is what I’m feeling from the outside. I think it’s a matter of time, the minute he frees his head up and just goes out there and expresses himself, the runs will flow,” said Robin Uthappa in a show with Star Sports.
Robin Uthappa also highlighted a technical adjustment that could help Virat Kohli come back into his form.
“I do think there’s a slight technical adjustment that he needs to make. Generally, his bat comes from the 2nd slip or 3rd slip. When he scored most of his runs, his bat generally comes from the 2nd or 3rd slip. Right now you see it’s coming from right at the wicketkeeper or 1st slip. And from there, every time he looks to play the cover driver or on the offside, he’s gonna not come with a full face of his bat. He’s gonna come with maybe 50-60% of his bat, and that also will make that cover driver his favourite shot, a very dangerous shot to play. So, it’s something that he will have to kind of figure out, and I hope someone speaks to him about it and helps him figure that piece out, because I think that one bit will make a huge difference. I think he’s searching for his feel and form, and it’s a very natural thing to happen when you’re, when you are short of runs, and I think it’s a matter of time,” Uthappa added.
India lock horns with Pakistan on 23rd February 2025
After brushing aside Bangladesh with comfortable ease on 20th February 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, the spotlight now goes on to the big-ticket clash between India and Pakistan on 23rd February 2025.
Pakistan are coming on the back of a 60-run loss at the hands of New Zealand in Match 1 and this game is a do-or-die clash for them. The Men in Green’s batters looked woefully out of touch and song and the batters in the form of Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan need to take up responsibility in this big game.
