Virat Kohli Showed ‘Lack Of Decisive Footwork’ In 3rd Test vs New Zealand!! Former Australian Captain Slams

For the whole series, the microscope was on the former Indian captain Virat Kohli, who came into the series in a merry-go-round manner, having failed in the opening Test of the home summer in Chennai against Bangladesh but returning to good form in Kanpur with a rapid half-century.

As India crumbled to a 25-run defeat against New Zealand in the third and final Test of the series at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, they earned their maiden whitewash in the format at home in three or more red-ball games. The Kiwis not only handed over the hosts a break in the 12-year proud record but also destroyed them for the first home Test series whitewash for 24 years.

Virat Kohli bounced out in the first innings of the series against William O’Rourke, before getting an outside edge in the second innings against Glenn Phillips. In Pune, the veteran had hardly any knowledge of facing the left-arm spin of Mitchell Santner, while in Mumbai, he had the same return despite going through so many hours of practice in the nets.

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The former Australian captain, Ian Chappell, has blamed the ‘lack of decisive footwork’ of the star batter, who was clean bowled by a full delivery by Mitchell Santer.

“Star batter Virat Kohli’s first-innings dismissal was the perfect example of India’s lack of decisive footwork. Kohli was clean bowled by a delivery from Santner that if the batter had taken even a small pace out of his crease, he could have hit on the full. However, instead of Kohli’s lack of decisive footwork being the culprit, his shot selection was questioned.” Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo.  

It hasn’t been the recent time when Virat Kohli has found it hard to face the spin attack of the opponent side. In the past, the likes of Nathan Lyon, Steve O’Keefe, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and others had made life harder for the right-handed batter.

In the recent three-match series against the Blackcaps, the Delhi-born struggled to notch up only 93 runs in six innings at an average of 15.50 and a strike rate of 53.75, with the best score of 70. His low scores in the last two games and the way those dismissals have been a huge concern for the home side going into Australia.

Ian Chappell questions the shot selection of Virat Kohli

The veteran warns the Rohit Sharma-led side of his poor batting performances against the Blackcaps, where they were exposed against the spinners, and reckons it ‘no good time’ for their batting fragility before the trip to Australia.

Virat Kohli has just managed 192 runs in ten innings of the home season in the red-ball format at a very low average of 21.33 and has bagged only two half-centuries.

Ian also pointed the finger at the reverse-sweep dismissal of Yashasvi Jaiswal, whose senseless batting put India in trouble in the first innings of the Mumbai Test.

“Regarding the supposedly all-important sweep shot, who is the insensitive coach who preached that the reverse sweep is safer to play in Test cricket rather than employing decisive footwork? The danger of the reverse sweep in Tests was adequately revealed with the senseless dismissal of Yashasvi Jaiswal in the Mumbai Test.” Chappell pens down.

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“The reverse sweep in Tests can be a dangerous shot because it’s premeditated. Precise footwork, on the other hand, is tailored to the actual length of the delivery. The odd player is very good at all types of sweep shots, but the majority should rely heavily on decisive footwork to negate good spin bowling.” He concluded.

Virat Kohli, despite not being in good touch, will be a huge member of India for the five-match Test series in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.