IND vs WI: Gavaskar issues Kohli huge warning after poor outing in 1st ODI

Former
India great Sunil Gavaskar said Virat Kohli’s apathy to leave the shorter
deliveries and play the hook shot is encouraging fast bowlers to dish out
shorter balls against the veteran Indian batter.

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On
Sunday, Kohli was dismissed by Alzarri Joseph for 8 off 4 balls in the first
ODI at Ahmedabad. The star batter was welcomed with an array of short-pitched balls
from Joseph. He hit the first two for boundaries and mistimed the fourth
delivery in his attempt to pull it over the fine-leg fence as the top edge
found Kemar Roach in the deep, ending his aggressive approach to the innings.
Gavaskar warned Kohli to be wary of such deliveries in the remaining two
matches of the series.

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“I
thought that even the South Africans seemed to be looking to do in one-day
cricket maybe not so much in Test cricket, to try and bounce Virat Kohli.
Because he is one of those batter who does not really duck. He loves to play
the hook shot, which is one where you cannot really be in control,” he said.

Also Read: West Indies captain Kieron Pollard says toss, batting played big role in loss vs India

In
the post-match analysis with broadcaster Star Sports, Gavaskar said that even
the South African bowlers wanted to deploy the same strategy against Kohli
during the ODI series last month.

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“In
this instance he does not get it right. He picked the ball which bounced a
little bit more and then he anticipated so it wasn’t quite of the middle of the
bat. It went off the edge and the catch was taken. So I feel he should be
prepared to face a little bit more in the remaining matches.”

The
second match will be played on February 9 while the final will be on February
11, both at the same venue.

Also Read: Sunil Gavaskar suggests Rishabh Pant’s name for India Test captaincy role

The
ODI series will be followed by a three-match T20I series which will be played
in Kolkata from February 16.