E-Paper
Sign in
‘Virat Kohli was out of touch, not in his zone’: India star gets a brutal truth bomb ahead of 2nd ODI in Adelaide
The former India cricketer weighed in on Virat Kohli’s recent flop show in Perth, stressing the importance of rhythm and regular match practice for top players.
Virat Kohli has been scrutinised once again for his vulnerability against the balls in the fifth stump channel outside off. The batting maestro was dismissed the same way against Australia in the first ODI, where he failed to open his account. Kohli was put under pressure to break the shackles after he was struggling to find the gaps, and eventually, he played an uppish shot outside off stump and edged it to the point to get caught.
This isn’t the first instance of the Indian batting great falling in this manner. During the previous Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he faced similar troubles outside the off stump, often edging deliveries and getting caught behind.
Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif weighed in on Kohli’s recent flop show in Perth, stressing the importance of rhythm and regular match practice for top players. He explained that consistent game time sharpens a batter’s instincts, helping them read variations like swing, pace, and length more effectively while staying in their batting zone.
“A player is only good till he has his rhythm, batting form, playing games regularly. Eyes are sharp, playing games every second or third day. When that happens, the player finds out from the hand whether the ball is in-swing or out-swing. Or whether it’s a yorker or a slower one. So, the ability to pick that is possible when you are playing regularly… You are in your batting zone," Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
“There was a lack of rhythm”: Virat Kohli gets reality check
Kaif remarked that the batting superstar currently looks out of rhythm and not in his batting zone, which, he said, was evident from his dismissal in the previous match.
"Virat Kohli is not in his batting zone at the moment, clearly… There was a lack of rhythm, and he was out of touch, so that’s why he got out in the last match,” he added.
Heading into the upcoming clash, Kohli will draw confidence from his impressive track record at the Adelaide Oval. Across four ODIs at the venue, the Indian batter has notched up two centuries and accumulated 244 runs at a strong average of 61 — a venue where he’s often thrived under pressure.
