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The front-foot trap: How Australian bowlers could feast on Virat Kohli's weakness in ODI series

Anurag Dasgupta

Kohli weakness in Australia [Source: AFP Photo] Kohli weakness in Australia [Source: AFP Photo]

The wait is almost over as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will return to international cricket after seven months. The duo last played together during the Champions Trophy finale, and since then, they have not featured for the team (due to their Test and T20I retirements). However, the upcoming ODIs will mark their comeback, as the Men in Blue expect a strong showing from them.

For Kohli, the tour will be special as he loves playing in Australian conditions, and has done well, Down Under, across formats. However, his last tour of Australia was a disaster, as the veteran batter slammed a century in the first Test, but failed in the next 8 innings as India lost the series.

ODI cricket is Kohli’s favourite format, but he needs to be wary of one key weakness of his, which the Aussies will look to exploit - the outside the off-stump balls.

Kohli's weakness which the Aussies could exploit

Every cricketer has a chink in his armour, and for Kohli, that weakness is the outside the off stump deliveries. Interestingly, when the concerns occurred early in his career during the England tour in 2014, Kohli worked on it and became a world beater. However, since 2020, the same concern has risen again, but this time, he has failed.

Virat Kohli numbers on fourth stump line (since 2020)

Year
Average
202013
202116.2
20229.8
202326.33
20248

(Kohli against good length balls)

  • As the data suggests, since 2020, his numbers have declined when facing good-length deliveries in Test cricket. In 2019, his average on the same line and length was 93, but in the last five years, Kohli has witnessed a steep fall.
  • In 2020, he averaged 13, while the average in 2021 was 16.2. 2022 and 2024 were the worst years for the champion batters in terms of average (9.8 and 8), as the opponent found ways to dismiss him in Tests.
  • These are data taken from his Test numbers, but Kohli does have the tendency to get dismissed in the same ways in ODIs as well.

Why Kohli struggles on deliveries outside the off?

Kohli, unlike his Indian predecessors, is a front-foot player and his first instinct is to come on the front foot on every single delivery. He commits forward on every opportunity that arises to negate the lateral movement, but this has also led to his downfall.


Due to this tendency, he commits to deliveries on which he should have stayed back, but by the time he realises his mistake, it often gets late. This mistake could be his worst nightmare in the upcoming ODI series.

Why this weakness could come back to haunt Kohli

Australian pitches are known for extra pace and bounce, and while Kohli relishes playing on fast pitches, and is an excellent player of fast bowling, it is the bounce that could trouble him.

The first ODI will take place in Perth, and the pitches there are known to be extra bouncy, and if Kohli already commits on the front-foot, then he won’t have the time to play the bounce, and the ball could take the outside-edge that could be a disaster for him.