Kohli went on a rampage as he unleashed powerful drives and clubbed ball after ball into the stands.
India ‘A' coach Rahul Dravid (left) gives batting tips to India's Test skipper Virat Kohli at the Chepauk stadium in Chennai on Saturday. (Photo: E.K. SANJAY)
Chennai: Virat Kohli, who was eager to cash in on the four-day match against Australia ‘A’ ahead of the Sri Lanka tour, failed to make it count even as he spent about 177 minutes at the crease, put together in both the innings, against a quality attack.
As the Aussies cruised to a 10-wicket victory within an hour into the final day, Kohli decided to wield his willow again. Under the watchful eyes of Rahul Dravid, Kohli took on the likes of Varun Aaron, Shardul Thakur, Pragyan Ojha, B. Aparajith, Jayant Yadav and Shreyas Gopal.
Kohli went on a rampage as he unleashed powerful drives and clubbed ball after ball into the stands. As he wrapped up the net session that lasted approximately 30 minutes, Dravid showed his way of executing a sweep shot. Kohli was all ears when Dravid explained how it’s done, gesturing towards square-leg and mid-wicket.
Kohli, who seldom plays the orthodox sweep, employed the stroke — a semi-sweep — only once against left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe in the second innings.
When queried about Kohli’s eagerness to master the stroke, Dravid said: “I’m not giving any advice as such. We have had general chats. There is nothing specific. But if you are spending four days with the Indian skipper, you are going to discuss cricket. But I’m not going to tell you everything,” he chuckled.
With the forthcoming Sri Lanka Test series being Kohli’s first full-fledged assignment as skipper, Dravid backed the young skipper’s aggression. “He should stick to his methods. I think you have to be who you are. The beauty of this game is that it allows different people to succeed. Most people who succeed in this game over a period of time are aggressive. Every international tour is important. He can only work with the team he has got and focus on getting the best out of them. He is very keen, excited and looking forward,” said the 42-year-old.
Talking about the misfiring Cheteshwar Pujara, Dravid said the Saurashtra batsman needs more time in the middle. “There is no need for any drastic change in his technique. He works hard and is aware about his game. Hopefully, if he plays the tour game in Lanka and spends sometime it will help him a lot,” he added.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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