Analyzing the reason behind Virat Kohli's recent success

A year ago, against a resurgent Bangladesh side, India were criticised for slumping to a 2-1 series defeat. In the midst of such talk, Virat Kohli was targeted the most, the reason being a poor performance against the Bangla tigers preceded by a mediocre World Cup campaign from a player of his standards.

12 months later, the very same Virat Kohli went on to break a plethora of records and successfully claiming the right to be the best batsman in the world at the moment. So what exactly went right for the Delhi batsman? Or something was wrong all that time which he discovered and rectified one fine day, maybe? Let us take a closer look at the changes Kohli brought about in his style of play, which has gradually affected his game.

Shifting of weight to the front foot

One of the major problems that he was encountering during the Bangladesh tour was his inability to middle deliveries outside off early into his innings. Most of the time his feet were either rooted to the crease or he would go hard at them with minimum footwork. Whenever a batsman shifts his weight to the front foot, he should be in the appropriate position just when the ball is delivered, such that by the time the ball reaches him, he will have to make a little adjustment to place his shot.

A retrospection into Kohli’s way of batting now will reveal the swiftness with which he shifts his weight to the front foot, allowing him ample time to make last minute amendments to the shot he is going to play. The cover drive which is his most lucrative shot, is one of the best outcomes due to this improvisation, as even deliveries on the 7th-8th stump or close to the tramline can be creamed through covers. The extra time that he gets allows him to free his arms and time wayward deliveries to the fence as well.

Shortening his batting stance

His tour of England in 2014 was one of his worst performances. A total of 134 runs from 10 innings is something so unkohli-istic. A striking feature in his batting that he had changed was shortening his stance. As Sunil Gavaskar pointed out, a wider stance creates balance issues and more chances of error when coming forward to defend deliveries outside off. The depth of the crease was compromised and the batsman was unable to play on the back foot properly. Shots like the square cut and the backfoot defence were blocked.

His flexibility to switch between back foot and front foot has to go down to the narrow stance that he is employing at the moment. A narrower stance not only increases the depth of the crease, it also nullifies the balance issues the batsman was facing earlier. It just proves how much a mere manoeuvre can raise one’s game to such unimaginable standards.

Advancing down the pitch more often

T20s and ODIs have forced bowlers these days to increase their arsenal of bowling weapons. One of the most potent weapons in this era of T20 is the slower delivery; outwitting the best, deceiving the cunning. However, Kohli has adjusted his game beautifully to neutralize it by advancing down the wicket often, especially against the fast bowlers.

In the 2016 World T20 as well as in the IPL 2016, he repetitively danced down the track and drove against the pacers and spinners alike. Bowl slow to him and he will reach to the pitch of the ball and swat it over extra cover. Increase the pace and he will play late bisecting the backward point and short third man. Even the wide yorkers were not spared.

Playing with a straight bat

Sachin Tendulkar was asked the other night the reason behind Kohli’s unworldly form, and he rightly pointed out how Kohli has presented the straight bat whenever he comes out to bat. This season, most of his shots on the off side have come off the straight bat. Combined with his lightning quick wrists, Kohli has been middling almost everything. Playing with the full face of the bat is never easy and when implemented perfectly, allows a batsman to get under the ball completely.

Potential Weakness

Kohli’s dismissal against Sunrisers in the final of IPL 2016 (Image Courtesy: Rediff)

While Kohli is in the form of his life without any signs of the law of averages catching up, the way he has been dismissed in the last few innings has created a potential opening for oppositions to exploit. It may well be a coincidence or can evolve into a recurring problem.

Against Gujarat Lions in the first Qualifier, he was bowled of an inside edge trying to cut a delivery that was outside off. Against Sunrisers in the IPL final, he was bowled running down the pitch, again of an inside edge to a delivery that landed short of length and nipped back a tad bit. Against Punjab, he was dismissed trying to loft a delivery close to his body over extra cover.

On observing those dismissals closely, one would notice that Kohli had already made up his mind to free his arm, if the ball pitches anywhere around off. Because Kohli is not a typical across-the-line slogger, he finds it difficult to put deliveries close to his body away. It becomes all the more difficult if it pitches closer to the off stump and swings into him, leaving him with little or no room to time his shots through the off side. His wicket against Sunrisers is an apt example; he had already made up his mind to charge at the bowler and with the ball seemingly angled away from him, lured him to play on the off.

A ray of hope for the opponents or maybe a coincidence to the optimistic fan.