Virat Kohli told to 'play the patience game' and replicate Sachin Tendulkar's SCG heroics: 'I'm not gonna chase...'
Gilchrist has advised Virat Kohli to try and hone in on what Sachin Tendulkar achieved at SCG in 2004 - challenge himself not to play a cover drive.
After a twin failure in a pink-ball Test at Adelaide, Virat Kohli has been advised by legendary Australian star Adam Gilchrist to take a leaf out of Sachin Tendulkar's book and play the patience game. The Aussie pacers exploited Kohli's well-known weakness outside off-stum[ and got rid of him cheaply in both innings. The Indian star showed some patience in the initial deliveries but failed to hold himself from poking the ball outside the off stump and was dismissed by Mitchell Starc for 7, while Scott Bolland outsmarted in the second innings for just 11. It has now become a problem that Kohli failed to find a solution to as he kept getting dismissed in the same fashion against the Pacers.
Gilchrist has advised Kohli to try and hone in on what Tendulkar achieved at SCG in 2004 - challenge himself not to play a cover drive. During the 2004 Test, Australia planned to get Tendulkar out while attempting a cover drive, but the Indian maestro analysed the field early and challenged himself not to go for the shot. It all panned out well for him as he went on to score 241 runs against a fierce bowling attack.
"The biggest battle, is not with what's coming towards you from the bowler or the skill of the opposition, it's more about battle between your ears. So, not suggesting that Virat scrambled any sense, but maybe he's got to try and hone in on what Sachin Tendulkar did at the SCG. And say 'right he'd say, right, I'm not gonna go chase anything outside off stump. You come to me.' You just play the patience game," Gilchrist told Cricbuzz.
The Aussie legend has backed Kohli to get over the rough patch, as he said the Indian star has the mental strength to bounce back and find the solution to the chink in his armoury.
"He's got enough experience under his belt to know that he's mentally tough. He's carried the weight of expectation since U-19 level, entering the IPL and becoming the icon that is," Gilchrist said in the same interaction.
'Virat Kohli should be able to say to himself…'
The Indian batting maestro slammed a century in the second innings at Perth to end a rough patch which he sustained during home Test season but then the pink-ball challenge turned out to be too much for him in Adelaide.
Gilchrist further said that it's an opportunity for Kohli to test himself in the middle mentally, which might also help him evolve in other ways.
"He should be able to say to himself, I'm going to do what's within my capacity to do the best thing for the team and if it's a long patient game, so be it. If you play long enough, you're probably gonna have to evolve in different ways and this might be an opportunity for Virat to do that," he added.
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