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Same old weakness hogs limelight as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli humbled in Perth ODI

Anurag Dasgupta

Rohit, Kohli exposed in first ODI [Source; AFP Photo] Rohit, Kohli exposed in first ODI [Source; AFP Photo]

Sunday, the King and the Hitam were supposed to light up the Optus Stadium in Perth, but it turned out to be a disaster as both the batters departed cheaply without giving up a proper fight against the likes of Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. While Rohit departed for 8 runs, Kohli went back without troubling the scorers (0).

The tricky Perth wicket was always going to trouble the famed Indian duo, as the surface as extra pace and bounce, and while pace doesn’t trouble Rohit, and Virat, it is the extra bounce that makes life difficult for the Indian batters.

Decoding why Kohli, Rohit struggled in Perth ODI

For every Asian batter, it is always a challenge to come from low-bounce wickets in India to high-bounce surfaces in Australia. Once, the great Ian Chappell said about Sachin Tendulkar’s Perth hundred in 1992 - “When you come from a low-bounce place like India to a high-bounce pitch in Australia, that, to me, is the toughest adjustment a batter could make.”

However, it seemed like RO-KO failed to make that adjustment as Hazlewood and Starc made them their bunnies in the first 10 overs itself.

If we analyse Rohit Sharma’s dismissal, then it was some relentless bowling by Josh Hazlewood to get rid of him. The Indian opener stayed back to defend the ball, but he was caught by the extra bounce the Aussie generated from the surface as the white-cherry kissed his blade, and the slip fielder did the rest of the job.

This was a typical Perth dismissal, as the surface is known to have extra bounce than any other Australian wicket. Rohit, looked a bit rusty, and bowlers like Hazlewood don’t allow the batters to settle in as the opener was undone by a pearler.

Kohli had a slightly different dismissal. His muscle memory always tells him to play on the front foot, no matter the delivery. Against Starc, he committed himself slightly on the front foot and also played away from the body. This is something you cannot do in Perth, as the pitch has that extra zip and bounce, and it is advisable to stay on the back foot and tackle the ball.

He looked rusty, but obvious, since he was returning to competitive cricket after eight long months. However, a player of his calibre, who has toured Australia several times, should know the fact that Perth will test his skills, and it is safe to stay on the back foot, rather than committing forward.

Did rustiness hamper RO-KO?

The two batters are not getting any younger, and they both play only one format; hence, they have not played a single match for India since the Champions Trophy final. No matter how hard you work in the nets, the body will be rusty, and that’s exactly what happened with RO and KO.

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar may actually be laughing in the corner as his judgment of the two batters was spot on. He urged them to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy for future ODI selection, and it was not because the duo doesn’t have the calibre to play the ODIs, but because, as you age, the body tends to respond differently, and the reaction slows down. 

Runs from their blade might come in the second or the third ODI, but if the first ODI is the blueprint, then it won’t be an understatement to say that RO-KO looked a bit rusty.