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'Body Was Completely Relaxed': Gavaskar Lauds Virat Kohli For Stance Adjustment In Perth

Akshita Patel

Virat Kohli changes stance in Perth Test to score a hundred [Source: @FOXcricket]Virat Kohli changes stance in Perth Test to score a hundred [Source: @FOXcricket]

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Indian stalwart, Virat Kohli, ended his 15 months long century drought to slam his 81st international hundred against Australia at Perth Test. Kohli, coming off an awful series against New Zealand, embraced technical changes which were approved by Sunil Gavaskar as he heaped praise on the batter.

India won the Perth Test against Australia by 295 runs, thus taking a 1-0 lead in the 5-game Border-Gavaskar Series. While Jasprit Bumrah was awarded player of the match, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli had notable contributions with a ton each. 

For Kohli, the hundred was special as he snapped out of a 15-month-long drought. Coming off just 93 runs in 6 innings against New Zealand, a redemption at Perth was the need of the hour for Virat Kohli.

Sunny Gavaskar impressed with Kohli's batting stance in second innings

Meanwhile, while analysing Virat Kohli’s heroics on Star Sports, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar revealed that small adjustments in batting stance made a big difference to Kohli as he got that extra height to handle variable bounce of Australian pitches.

"His body was completely relaxed when he came into bat in the second innings. In the first innings, because of the fact that India had lost two wickets early, he would have also been under pressure," Gavaskar said.

"In that second innings, you could sense apart from changing that stance, I think he also got his legs, which were maybe just a little bit wider at the start. Just a little bit, maybe I'm thinking too much, but that little thing might have given him that height he wanted. Well, in Australia, on the bouncier pitches, you need that edge."

Sunil Gavaskar also noted that Virat Kohli was relaxed batting in the second innings as Jaiswal and KL Rahul provided him the cushion of a 201-run opening partnership. Lastly, the former cricketer applauded Kohli’s exceptional hitting and wide range of shots.

"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," he added.

Kohli toppled record books with exceptional hundred

Following Virat Kohli’s 30th Test hundred, the stalwart batter shattered many long-standing records. For instance, Kohli surpassed Sachin Tendulkar to become the Indian batter with most hundreds in Australia. He also became the only visiting batter to score two back-to-back tons in Perth Stadium. Besides, Kohli surpassed the 2000-run mark in Border-Gavaskar series history, thus becoming the only 5th Indian batter to do so.