5 favourite shots of Virat Kohli that show his pure dominance
May 23, 2016 at 5:49 PM
Virat Kohli’s 2016 with the willow, in the shortest format, has left cricket lovers gasping for breath and marvelling at the brilliance of the right-hander’s ability to score runs, on a very consistent basis.
He smashed three fifties in the T20I series in Australia, followed it up consistently performing in the Asia Cup and was undoubtedly the best batsman in the World T20. That unbelievable form has carried onto the Indian Premier League also.
No doubt one of the most aggressive batsmen in modern cricket, the 27-year-old flamboyant right-hander boasts every shot in his repertoire. An accomplished stroke-player all around the wicket, Kohli’s defensive technique is well organised and when you talk about his timing on the leg side, it’s breath-taking. Here we have picked 5 of his favourite shots.
THE EXQUISITE COVER DRIVEOne of the most exquisite shots you can expect from Kohli is his effortless drive along the ground that can pierce the cover region easily. The right-hander generally leans forward and opens the face of his bat to strike the ball past the cover fielders resulting in a magnificent boundary.
It’s true the shot may not look as devastating like his other shots, but Virat Kohli’s cover drive has found a way in the hearts of a million cricket fans around the globe, with many comparing its quality with the famous straight drives of the legendary Little Master.
THE DELICATE SQUARE/LATE CUT
Not only using his sheer power to pull the ball, Kohli can also mesmerise you with his delicate shots to complement an aggressive nature of cricket. His square cut through the point and third-man area is one of his most lethal weapons in all forms of cricket.
He first uses the depth of the crease, then quickly transfers his weight on the back-foot and smashes the ball with an open face of the bat to guide it racing past the point fielder towards the boundary. This particular shot has proved efficient while facing the turning deliveries outside the off-stump.
THE WELL-CONTROLLED PULL SHOT
Cricket has watched many international careers stumble due to their inability to dominate well-directed bouncers. But you can’t say that to Kohli. The aggressive Indian Test captain has developed a dominating power against the short deliveries and it can be clearly visible in his muscular pull shots.
He gives himself enough time to open the arms when pulling a bouncer and the courage to rip apart even the fastest bowlers in the world when they dig one in short makes him majestic. While shifting his weight on the back-foot to pull, Kohli has also mastered the art of keeping it well in control to find the gaps to perfection and get the most out of his shot.
THE FLAMBOYANT INSIDE-OUT SHOT
If the limited-overs cricket has given a perfect stage to the evolution of innovative stroke-making, then the inside-out shot happens to be one of the top finds by modern-day cricketers. This shot actually gives the batsman the luxury to despatch the ball piercing through any kind of protective field setting to earn some valuable runs.
Kohli, with his outstanding technique and an intuitive mind, plays the inside-out shot to perfection. Moving towards the onside, Kohli thrives on the room to loft the ball over the infield for some quick runs.
This unique shot helps Kohli snatch a lot of runs against both the flighted deliveries of the spinners and the pitched up balls by the seamers. Not only Kohli, this inside-out shot is a favourite shot of his teammate Suresh Raina also.
THE ELUSIVE SWEEP SHOT
Despite mastering the stylish flicks and powerful pulls, the one shot that was missing from the armoury of the Indian batting sensation was the traditional sweep.
But after his struggles in front of the England spinners back in 2014, Kohli managed to master the art of sweep shot after immense hard work and it left Australian spinner Nathan Lyon on the receiving end in Adelaide during the 2014-15 tour.
In his two centuries during that test, Kohli nullified the spin prowess of Lyon with his newly-acquired sweep shots and what surprised everyone is it looked like he had possessed this sweep from the very beginning of his career. Having included the sweep shot in his list of armoury, Virat Kohli no longer gives the bowlers any chance to bowl full onto his pads when the square-leg fielder is inside the circle.