IND vs AUS: Mark Waugh questions Virat Kohli’s form in Test cricket
Former Australia opener Mark Waugh has questioned Virat Kohli’s form in Test cricket as the Indian batsmen has failed to reger a century in the longest format in the last 41 innings.
“I cannot believe a player of his class has gone that long without a hundred,” former Test batter Mark Waugh said on Fox Cricket.
“He’s been in good touch recently, he’s batted well in one-day cricket. I know it’s not Test match cricket, but the signs have been there in his last three innings in Test cricket that he’s actually playing pretty well.
“He’s middling the ball, he’s watching the ball well, his defence is strong. He’s just making the odd error and it’s proving costly for him. He hasn’t had a lot of luck. He makes one make and he’s out.
“He’s a world-class player and I feel like a hundred is just around the corner for him.
“He’s feeling the pressure, no doubt about it … I feel like he is a little bit tense when he goes out there in the middle.”
In the first innings of the Indore Test, Kohli fell victim to young spinner Todd Murphy for a third time in the series, trapped for 22. In the second innings he was pinned Matthew Kuhnemann for 13.
“He actually does play with quite hard hands, he likes to feel bat on ball. That dismissal in the first innings he just played that too square, if he played that to mid-on he would have been okay, but he played it around his front pad,” said Waugh.
“He does tend to plant his front foot, which technically is not a great thing to do in India. We have seen him play back in the crease in a couple of innings, which is quite well-suited to slower pitches. There’s no obvious weakness, but he seems to make one make and he’s gone.”
Kohli’s last century was against Bangladesh in November 2019 at Eden Gardens. Kohli scored 136 against Bangladesh to help India secure a comprehensive innings victory. It was Kohli’s 27th Test century – but he’s still searching for his 28th.
Since December 2019, the 34-year-old has averaged 25.70 with the bat in Test cricket, scoring six fifties in 23 matches.
