Gavaskar Analyses Virat Kohli's Century Addiction And Technical Adjustments In Batting

Sunil Gavaskar, the renowned Indian cricketer, has shared insights on Virat Kohli's batting performance. He focused on two main areas: the expectations of Kohli's conversion rate and his subtle technical adjustments.

Kohli ended a long wait for a Test century with a superb hundred against Australia in Perth. Gavaskar believes scoring centuries becomes an addiction for players like Kohli.

"Once you get a hundred, it's like an addiction. You want to get a hundred every time. It's like, 'Oh, I love it. I love getting a hundred. I love raising my bat. I love that little thump on my back when I get back in the change room with everybody,'" Gavaskar said at Star Sports.

Gavaskar compared the expectations surrounding Kohli to those faced by tennis legends Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal. These athletes are expected to win titles consistently, and similar standards apply to Kohli.

"It's like I said in commentary that Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafa Nadal, they are title winners. If they lose in the semi-finals, people say, 'Oh, they're not in form.' Similarly, with Virat Kohli, because everybody is so used to him scoring so many hundreds quite regularly, when he doesn't score 100, even if he's getting 70-80-which a lot of guys will be very happy to get-people say, 'Look, he's not scoring runs.'"

Indian fans are often described as "greedy," demanding excellence from their heroes. Despite Kohli delivering crucial scores in the 60s and 70s since July 2023, he faced criticism for not reaching hundreds.

"Indian fans, they're greedy fans. They're not going to be happy with their idol scoring only 60-70s. They want their icons to score hundreds."

Gavaskar noted Kohli's relaxed demeanor during his second innings against Australia. Initially under pressure after early wickets fell, Kohli appeared calm later on.

Kohli's Stance Adjustment

Gavaskar highlighted a subtle change in Kohli's stance during his second innings. This adjustment involved widening his legs slightly at the start of his stance.

"In the second innings, apart from changing that stance, I think he also got his legs, which were maybe just a little bit wider at the start. That little thing might have given him that height he wanted. On the bouncier pitches in Australia, you need that edge."

This tweak helped Kohli manage bounce better on Australian pitches and execute shots more precisely.

Memorable Shots

Among Kohli's impressive strokes was a mid-wicket boundary off Josh Hazlewood that stood out for Gavaskar.

"I liked that mid-wicket boundary that he hit off Hazlewood. That, to me, was not the easiest of shots. A straight drive is a little easier because your stance is like that, but just to open up a little bit and play that - that was all magic," the India legend concluded.