A bumper Test series for Kohli doesn't have to be bad news for Australia

Ajit Vijaykumar 16:30 05/12/2018
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  • Virat Kohli.

    Virat Kohli scored 692 runs in the 2014/15 Test series in Australia. The Indians lost 2-0. Kohli scored 286 runs in the three match Test series in South Africa in the beginning of this year – the most in the series – but ended up losing the clash 2-1.

    Kohli amassed 593 runs in the five-match Test series in England this year, nearly 250 more than the next best but saw India go down 4-1. In the 2016/17 home series against Australia, Kohli managed a paltry 46 runs from three Tests. India won that encounter 2-1.

    Coincidence? Maybe. But it does paint a peculiar picture of India relying entirely on Kohli for tough runs when he is in the team but also managing to do well when he does not fire. Just to illustrate the point, India played the Asia Cup 50-over tournament against Asian heavyweights in UAE in September without Kohli and were unbeaten in the tournament.

    During India’s tour of England in the summer, reports came of England’s bowlers not getting too worried about dismissing Kohli cheaply. Yes they tried to get him out but concentrated on getting the rest of the 10 batsmen out cheaply and in the process kept their noses ahead of India in a series of close margins. For England, it was a collective effort from the likes of Jos Buttler, Sam Curran while for India, it was Kohli or bust.

    So what can the Australians learn from this? They can either burn the midnight oil in trying to stop the Kohli run machine or focus on other aspects of the game.

    kohli

    However, looking at the news cycle from Australia, every Aussie cricketer and his or her mum has devised a strategy to stop Kohli. Bowl full outside off, don’t overdo the short stuff, don’t get into a fight with him, don’t drift on to the pads, sing a lullaby, misplace his room keys… there have been no shortage of strategies to combat Kohli.

    But why bother? Why not just let nature take its course and keep the rest of the Indian batting line-up quiet? Of late when Kohli scores, other Indian batsmen somehow go into their shell and don’t score enough. Maybe it’s because they think Kohli is doing the job for the team and don’t push that much harder. His runs probably act as a cushion for batsmen to take that much longer to get going. This might not be the case but recent results suggest an on-song Kohli hasn’t translated to success for the team away from home.

    It might seem outlandish to suggest that Australia should not worry too much if Kohli scores. On flat Australian wickets, he might score 200 in a day and that would put Tim Paine’s side out of contention. But he will need support from the other end and if the Aussies can concentrate on cutting that ‘oxygen supply’ to Kohli, he would be left fighting on both fronts and a team can only go so far on one man’s shoulder, as England proved at home, in a long series.

    Australia are not in a good space of mind at the moment. It’s their first full home series since the ‘sandpapergate’ in South Africa and their main aim, along with winning, is to regain the trust of the Australian public. Seeing Kohli walk out to his beloved Australian arenas and pile on the runs can be dispiriting.

    But Test cricket is fought between 11 players on both sides. If Kohli piles on the runs, that should not mean ‘the end’ for Australia. In fact, it might just be a case Australia channeling their resources on keeping other Indian batsmen quiet over eight innings and attacking India’s bowling. Let Kohli have his runs, Australia can still have the Border Gavaskar Trophy.

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