'Even a bowler who plays twice a year knows how to dismiss Virat Kohli': India legend taunted ahead of Gabba Test

According to former India batter Mohammed Kaif, every bowler, regardless of their experience, knows exactly where to target Virat Kohli. There has been a noticeable trend in Kohli's dismissals against fast bowlers, particularly to deliveries moving away outside the stumps. It has become almost expected to see him fall in this manner. While it was previously thought to be due to his position at the batting crease, it now appears to be more related to his forward press. Kohli seems to struggle with good length deliveries when he commits to the front foot too early, leaving him in a vulnerable position.

Take his dismissals in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, for example. In the first innings in Perth, he got one that bounced awkwardly and took the gloves. It sure did, but was it an unplayable delivery? Certainly not by Kohli's standards, at least. What got him into trouble was his forward press. He didn't get enough time to get his hands out of the way on the fast Perth pitch. In relatively better conditions to bat in the second innings, Kohli took full advantage of the tiring Australian pacers with a masterful century - his 30th in Test cricket.

However, in the day-night Test in Adelaide, things again went back to the usual. In both the innings, Kohli was trapped with good length deliveries outside the off stump. In the first innings, he was once again guilty of committing to the front foot way too early and in the second innings, Scott Boland bowled a very good delivery in the corridor of uncertainty and got Kohli poking.

When asked about Kohli's similar dismissals, Sunil Gavaskar went on to state that a batter who has got 30 Test centuries sure knows how to bat. He does, there are no second thoughts about it. But as Matthew Hayden quickly pointed out that it is all about making the right decisions. Kohli made the right choices in the second innings in Perth, where he aligned himself with the line of the ball instead of staying beside the line, which has brought about his downfall on countless occasions.

Kaif said even Boland, who doesn't find a place in the Australian XI regularly, knows how to get Kohli out. "A bowler like Boland who plays only two-three Test matches in a year... He comes, he knows exactly where to bowl to Virat Kohli. Just pith it outside the off stump, Kohli will fiddle with it. He will nick it and get out caught behind. This is an open secret," he said in a video shared on his social media handles.

The former batter expressed his surprise as to why the Indian pacers could not exploit Travis Head's weakness like the Aussies exposed Kohli's.

"If Boland knows how to trap Kohli then why can't we do the some for Travis Head?If his weakness is outside the off-stump, why don’t we consistently bowl there? Every batsman has weaknesses."

"Everyone knows Virat Kohli's weakness. You bowl it outside the off-stump and he will nick it. You'll need to adopt the same strategy against Travis Head as well. You need to move ahead with proper planning. You need to attack him from the first ball; you need to make a fixed plan to exploit his weakness, and then you can get him out," he added.

"We are making mistakes. I don't believe this Australian team is so strong that we should be scared of them. We won the first match; Australia played well, so they won the second match, and now the series is 1–1. The Indian team is a strong side, and when we go to the Gabba, we will make a comeback."