"Confident that he will reflect, adapt and come back....": Abhishek Nayar on Virat Kohli's outside-off stump dismissal at Perth ODI

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 19 (ANI): Speaking on Virat Kohli's dismissal for an eight-ball duck following India's loss to Australia in the first Test at Perth, former Indian assistant coach and cricketer Abhishek Nayar expressed confidence that the star batter will go back, reflect, study and make plans and adjustments well ahead of the second ODI at Adelaide on Thursday.
Virat's return to international cricket did not go as expected. While fans expected a well-calculated, dominant performance against Australia, an opposition he has thrived against, the reality fans lived out was an eight-ball duck. Australians deprived Virat of some easy singles by setting tight fields, and Mitchell Starc was bowling well. An attempt to get off the mark with a flashy drive on an outside off-stump delivery turned out to be the end of Virat's stay at Perth, as a fantastic diving catch from Cooper Connolly sent fans in shock who had waited for months to catch a glimpse of the legend score some runs.
Speaking on 'Cricket Live', JioStar expert Nayar said, "The discussion will always be around playing square of the wicket in Australia. With the extra pace, bounce, and lateral movement on offer, you want to let the ball come to you, play it late and behind the body. That is slightly different from what Virat has traditionally done here. He is someone who likes to take charge, walk towards the bowlers, and play in straighter areas. Today was a different challenge."
"Mitchell Starc seemed one step ahead; he did not go for the full and fast deliveries we are used to seeing, but instead, hit the pitch hard and went across the batter. Yes, there were definite plans against Virat. In white-ball cricket, unlike the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where there was more grass and movement, this was about variation in pace and angles. I am sure Virat will go back, study his videos, and look at adjustments, maybe playing deeper in the crease or later towards third man could be better options. We saw him work on that during the BGT, and I'm confident he will reflect, adapt, and come back with better plans to deliver the runs we all expect from him," he added.
Virat falling to an outside off-stump delivery was a continuation of a pattern which he faced during his final Test assignment for India, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which also came in Australia. He fell to the 'outside off-stump' trap throughout the series, a trap which was most used by Scott Boland.
However, the superstar batter would be aiming to do better at Adelaide Oval on Thursday. Virat has a fantastic ODI record at the venue, with 244 runs in four matches at an average of 61.00, including two centuries. In T20Is, the other white-ball format, he has scored 204 runs in three matches at an average of 204.00, with three fifties and a best score of 90*. Also, in five Tests there, he has made 527 runs at an average of 52.70, including three centuries and a fifty in 10 innings with a best score of 141.
Coming to the match, India was put to bowl first by Australia after winning the toss. The top-order of Rohit Sharma (8), skipper Shubman Gill (10), Virat Kohli (0) and Shreyas Iyer (11) struggled against Mitchell Starc (1/22) and Josh Hazlewood (2/20).
Team India's rhythm was disrupted by numerous rain breaks, and the match was eventually converted to a 26-overs-per-side match. However, a 39-run stand between KL Rahul (38 in 31 balls, with two fours and a six) and Axar Patel (31 in 38 balls, with three fours) proved to be a breather. KL took India past the 100-run mark, pairing up with Washington Sundar. It was Nitish Kumar Reddy (19* in 11 balls, with two fours) who took India to 136/9 in 26 overs.
Mitchell Owen and Matthew Kuhnemann also took two wickets.
In Australia's run chase of 131 runs, their revised target as per the DLS Method, India got Travis Head (8) early. However, Marsh (46 in 52 balls, with two fours and three sixes), Josh Phillipe (37 in 29 balls, with three fours and two sixes) and Matt Renshaw (21* in 24 balls, with a four and a six) made sure that Australia did not face much issues in their chase, chasing the total down in 21.1 overs with seven wickets in hand. (ANI)