When India’s Virat Kohli toured Down Under in 2014-15, he made four hundreds and averaged 86.5. How can Australia stop him this time around?
As Australia and India prepare to do battle over four Tests across the next month, there remains one burning question: How do you stop Virat Kohli?
On his last tour Down Under in 2014-15, Kohli racked up 692 runs across four matches, his four hundreds and one fifty contributing to a stunning average of 86.50.
The only player to score more runs in that series, which the home side won 2-0, was Australia’s Steve Smith – a man who will be conspicuous by his absence this time around as he continues to serve a suspension following the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town back in March.
His ban, as well as those handed down to David Warner and Cameron Bancroft in the wake of that fiasco, have left Australia’s top order looking inexperienced and at times decidedly shaky.
But Justin Langer’s side can take comfort from India’s recent troubles in England, where they were thumped 4-1, as well as being able to call upon arguably the strongest bowling attack in world cricket.
So how will the likes of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon quell the finest batsman on the planet? Omnisport enlisted the help of Opta to break down the numbers and perhaps offer a few pointers…
IT’S A NUMBERS GAME
- In 15 Tests against Australia, Kohli boasts an average of 50.84, slightly down on the figure for his career as a whole, which stands at 54.57.
- Across two tours, Kohli has played eight Tests Down Under, his superb series in 2014-15 improving his average on Australian soil to 62.
- In the 2011-12 series, it took Kohli six attempts to pass fifty, but he followed up that 75 with a century in Adelaide – the venue for the opening Test on Thursday.
SIDDLE TO LAY THE TRAP IN CORRIDOR OF UNCERTAINTY?
Former Australia quick Jason Gillespie has urged the bowling attack to maintain “a fourth-stump line, about bail high”, to frustrate Kohli. Peter Siddle, recently recalled to the Test set-up after a two-year absence, could be just the man for the job.
- Siddle has sent down 280 deliveries to Kohli in Tests. Of those, the India batsman has played an attacking shot to just 15.7 per cent - lower than against any other member of the Australia squad.
- During that period, Siddle has dismissed Kohli on four occasions for a strike rate of 70 - better than any of his team-mates, among those to have bowled more than one ball.
- It seems Siddle is perfectly suited to Gillespie’s plea to try the patience of Kohli. The world’s top-ranked Test batsman, when facing Siddle, plays a false shot at 23.1 per cent of deliveries - more than against any other member of this Australia team.
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