‘Like in case of Tendulkar, it was silly…’: SA great’s ‘orthodox’ plan for Kohli’s dismissal in Test series
For the first time since the heartbreaking loss in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad on November 19, Virat Kohli will be making a comeback to international cricket in the impending two-match Test series in South Africa that begins next Tuesday in Centurion. If veterans and legends are correct, this will be India’s best chance to tick that final box in their Test cricket list, of getting a series win in South Africa, and for that the visitors will need one of their best batters in Kohli to be at the top of his game. However, former South African pacer Fanie de Villiers has a tip for his compatriots, on how to dismiss Kohli in the Test series.
Former South Africa pacer has a plan on how to dismiss Virat Kohli in the impending Test series
Kohli has been among the best visiting batters in South Africa when it comes to Test cricket. In seven matches, he has scored 719 runs at 51.35 with two centuries and as many fifties. He is, in fact, India’s second-highest run-getter in Test cricket in South Africa after the legendary Sachin Tendulkar (1161 runs in 15 matches).
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Speaking to PTI before the two-match contest, De Villiers advised South African fast bowlers to play the waiting game against Kohli.
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“Only way to get a Virat Kohli kind of batter out is a very orthodox way of bowling on the fourth stump channel and play a waiting game. And wait for that one delivery which nips a bit far away. You can’t attack a good player,” he was straight.
De Villiers even cited the example of Tendulkar, whose ODI century record Kohli recently broke during the World Cup, to drive home his point.
“Like in case of Tendulkar, it was silly to always wait for leg before (to an incoming delivery). Because he would hit you through mid-wicket. So bowl those deliveries outside off-stump (to Virat) and wait for one to either nip away or nip in,” he said.
This will be Kohli’s fourth visit to South Africa, having first visited in 2013. His best performance came in 2018, when he smashed 286 runs in six innings at 47.66 with one century and a fifty.
