Virat Kohli has become a legend in Indian cricket thanks to his tremendous talent and relentless dedication over the years. He doesn’t allow obstacles stop him from pushing himself. Throughout his incredible career, Kohli’s unmatched competitive spirit has continuously inspired fans.
In the 2014 Test series against England, Virat Kohli’s batting performance was dreadful. In ten innings, he only managed 134 runs at an average of 13.40. That was possibly the lowest point of his career. Because of his weak technique against the moving ball, the Delhi batsman was mostly eliminated by being caught by the wicketkeeper or in the slip cordon to balls hit at the fourth and fifth stump lines.
But when India returned to England in 2018, he overcame the troubles that afflicted him there thanks to his mental toughness and never-say-die attitude. This time, Virat Kohli amassed 593 runs at an average of 59.30 in ten innings, scoring two hundreds and three fifties.
The legendary seamer was unable to dismiss the Indian mainstay once, four years after Anderson had Virat Kohli’s number in 2014.
Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar claims that before the 2018 England trip, Virat Kohli would rise early in Mumbai and bat in the nets to test himself against the moisture on the exposed pitch.
Bangar continued by saying that once the sun had set and the ball had stopped moving, Virat Kohli would essentially pour water over the surface to simulate the circumstances he would face in England. Ajinkya Rahane would also play with the miraculous hitter for a few sessions.
“In England, the two most important aspects of the game are your ability to counter the swing and your ability to play the ball late. Virat Kohli worked really hard in 2017–18 to improve his poor performance from the 2014 tour. Our schedule was harsh; in order to chase the early dew, we would get at a Mumbai ground by 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning.
In an interview with The Great Indian Cricket Show on Doordarshan, Bangar stated, “We wanted to start as early as possible so we could replicate English conditions, utilising the heavy morning atmosphere and the natural moisture on an uncovered pitch.”
“We would literally pour more water onto the surface to keep the ball moving if the sun came out and the moisture on the wicket started to drop.” Ajinkya Rahane joined in for a few sessions, and Virat continued that exhausting workout on a regular basis.
We were really successful in winning games over there because three or four of our core batsmen were able to perfect their batting through those precise simulations,” he continued.
