Virat Kohli's Weakness Exposed By Jofra Archer In 1st ODI As Old Memories Resurfaces

Archer exposes Kohli's weakness [Source: AFP]

Virat Kohli returned to international cricket after successfully winning the IPL 20256 title with the RCB, and as expected, the buzz was at an all-time high as the Indian fans eagerly waited for their star player to deliver the goods vs England.

The first ODI was played at Edgbaston, and India needed 259 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Chasmaster Kohli was expected to win the game for India, but Jofra Archer, the English speedster, had some other plans.

After getting smacked for a boundary, Archer bowled a fuller-length ball as Kohli missed the attempted flick and was declared lbw, and he got dismissed for just 5 runs. Kohli’s shot on his dismissal brought back old memories, as Archer exploited his weakness against him.

Instances When Virat Kohli's weakness hurt him

Archer had a clear game plan against Kohli, and he executed it to perfection. The English pacer must have watched Kohli’s recent clips, and it might have helped him to devise a plan against the Indian maestro.

Interestingly, this is not the first time Kohli has been dismissed the same way; this has happened before, but the two moments that come to mind are the dismissals against Trent Boult in the 2019 World Cup, and against Xavier Bartlett last year.

When Trent Boult trapped Kohli lbw

‘In the 2019 World Cup semis, India collided against New Zealand, and Trent Boult used all his expertise to trap the Indian captain lbw.

He started with a couple of away swingers, and suddenly nipped the ball back into Kohli, who flicked and missed and was trapped plumb in front.

Bartlett took a leaf out of Boult's books to dismiss the Indian great

In the India vs Australia second ODI last year, pacer Xavier Bartlett took a leaf out of Boult’s book and bowled a similar good-length ball as Kohli once again went for a flick and was trapped lbw as he was dismissed for a duck.

Also Read: Virat Kohli Teases Gurnoor Brar As He Injures India Captain Shubman Gill

Technical issues in Kohli's batting exposed by Archer

Archer had bowled four overs on a trot, and it was expected that Harry Brook would give him a rest. However, when Kohli came out. to bat, the seamer was brought on for one more over, and he did the damage.

He started with a bouncer, and it was dispatched for a boundary. Archer’s natural length is the back-of-length deliveries, and perhaps the Indian number 3 expected something on similar lines as he stayed back inside his crease.

However, this time, Archer went full and straight, as Kohli couldn’t get a bat on his flick shot, and he was trapped by the bowler.

Technical issues in Kohli's batting that goes against him

• Kohli has a technical issue, and one that he needs to work on to survive in SENA countries. His LBW dismissals are mainly caused by misjudging the straighter deliveries due to his adjustments made to counter outswing as he plays across the line.
• Kohli often shuffles across early to counter the swing bowling. However, this trigger movement makes him vulnerable against the straighter deliveries, particularly when he attempts to flick the ball towards the mid-wicket region.
• Also, to avoid getting nicked off the outside edge, Kohli sometimes plays with a closed bat face, and he even closes his stance. This leads to him getting trapped in front of the stumps when a delivery jags back in.

Conclusion

After the Archer dismissal, all the other bowlers will try to implement the same strategy to dismiss Kohli. They will bowl him full on the stumps, but instead of playing the shot towards mid-wicket, Kohli should try and play it more towards the mid-on region, or even straighter.

Bowlers know that he’ll try and flick the ball towards mid-wicket, and they set the trap accordingly. However, with limited ODIs remaining before the World Cup, the champion batter needs to rejig his technique.

Also Read: "Let's Laugh": Fans Left Frustrated After Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli’s Early Dismissals vs England