Australia batsman Matt Short has revealed their pacers will continue with the same bowling tactic which has seen them emerge successful against Virat Kohli in the recent times Down Under.
Since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy towards the end of last year, Kohli’s mode of dismissals in Australia have been on similar lines, where he has edged deliveries outside the off-stump channel to the cordon. As Kohli gears up for the second ODI at Adelaide – his favourite hunting ground in Australia, where he has scored 5 centuries across formats – on Thursday, the focus very much remains on his struggles outside the off-stump. Even in the first ODI at Perth, he was caught at gully without opening the scoring as Australia took a 1-0 series lead in the three-match series.
With the meeting in Adelaide on Thursday being a must-win fixture for India, all eyes are on Kohli as to whether the 36-year-old will find sparks at Adelaide Oval where he has also scored four half-centuries to go with 5 centuries and has an average of 65.
“I’m not in the fast-bowling meetings, but that seems to be the way he has been getting out recently,” Australian batter Matt Short told reporters on Tuesday in Adelaide. “Some of the guys like ‘Hoff’ (Josh Hazlewood) and ‘Starcy’ (Mitchell Starc), they have bowled a lot against him, they know what they’re doing. In Perth they sort of let the conditions do all the work, a bit of swing and nip on the wicket, so I’m sure they’ll do the same again,” Short added.
Short also said he is looking forward to pick the brains of one ODI cricket’s all-time greats Kohli during the 50-over leg of the series. “It’s pretty cool to share the field with such a legend of the sport. I’ll definitely get the chance to have a chat to him at some stage throughout the series. But it’s going to be a cool way for him to go out, especially with so many fans here in Australia. When Rohit or (Shubman) Gill got out the other day (in Perth), and then Kohli came on, just the cheer when he was walking on – you’d feel pretty bad as the batter walking off. It’s just an amazing experience,” Short said.
