3 Technical Changes That Made Virat Kohli Last 86 Balls In Boxing Day Test

Virat Kohli made a few changes to his technique in the MCG Test [Source: @cricketcomau/x.com]

India is under pressure in the fourth Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The Australian team as taken a strong hold of the match at MCG and at the end of day 2 in the game a lot depend on the Indian maverick Virat Kohli was to how India will finish this game.

After Australia put 474 runs on the board, courtesy of a brilliant 140 by Steve Smith, Pat Cummins put India under pressure with a couple of quick wickets. With India two down at 51, Kohli walked out to bat. With the kind of form he has been lately, the Indian fans were fearing another failure. However, what we have seen of Kohli at MCG so far, this is a different version of the batter. 

If we take a look at the Kohli has approached his innings in MCG so far, we will find he has made some major changes in his technique and it is paying off. 

1. Change In Stance

Comparison of Kohli's stance in Gabba and Melbourne Test [Source: OneCricket]

Difference in Kohli's stance in the last two Tests - If we look at Kohli's stance in the Gabba Test, then we will observe that he had a middle and leg stump guard and it was more of an open stance. However in the Melbourne Test, we can see that Kohli has moved his guard a couple of steps towards the off stump. Besides he has come in with a more closed stance in this game. 

The changed stance has ensured that Kohli is more aware of his off stump and hence he not chasing the fifth or sixth stump deliveries, an action that has been the cause of his dismissal very often lately. 

2. Playing Close To The Body

Difference in Kohli's driving technique in the 3rd and 4th Test [Source: OneCricket]

Not throwing his bat away from the body - The image on the left side is when Kohli got out in the Gabba Test, while on the right side is one of the cover drives played by Kohli on Day 2 of MCG test. 

If we see the two images, we can see that the gap between Kohli's bat and pad was much more in Gabba that it is in MCG. This indicates that Kohli had adjusted his technique to play close to his body and not throw his bat at the deliveries going through the corridor of uncertainty. 

3. Playing Late

Virat Kohli difference in inception of deliveries in the last two Test matches [Source: @gavaskar_theman/x.com]

Meeting the ball late - If we see the video we will get the idea that Kohli had tried to play as late as possible during his time in the middle in the MCG Test. Then the image shows us the difference in Kohli's inception point of deliveries in the Brisbane and Melbourne Test. The fact that he was playing late in MCG means that he is allowing for time to himself to adjust to the delivery type and was also playing with a more compact approach.

Conclusion

One of the major problems in Kohli's batting lately was the fact that he was looking to chase deliveries that could have been left by him. It seems like he has adjusted his technique to encounter that problem. Besides, Kohli also looked much more determined and focused in MCG. With the way he had left the deliveries and had approached his innings, it looked like this is the Kohli the Indian fans were missing and would have been happy to see in MCG.