Are we looking at a Virat Kohli 2.1 ?

Ever since Virat Kohli was exposed against the moving ball outside the off-stump by Anderson and co, the flamboyant batsman wasn't quite the same again in both ODIs and test cricket alike. If exposed to a new ball early on with a little bit of grass on the pitch, India's ace batsman has found it difficult to get into his rhythm. Standing way too outside the crease certainly did yield success in tests but it actually disrupted his ODI batting skillset which hampered his form and rhythm in the Commonwealth Tri-Series and it eventually led to his below-par performances in the 2015 World Cup. The white Kookaburra ball’s extra bounce and late swing troubled Kohli who was caught in two minds due to his stance. But all that has been corrected since the mid-South African series. Let's take a look at two weak aspects of Virat's batting that have improved drastically:

1)Shots on the Square Side :

Playing shots towards the square of the wicket has always been Virat's major weakness which was earlier often made up for by his lightning quick feet and silky wrists. That was until the tour to England where Anderson and co took him apart, leaving him clueless. After the tour, all other tours started to continuously target this weakness which made Kohli’s batting look more restrained. But all that has looked to change now. A look at the fourth ODI against South Africa and Mohammed Amir’s stunning spell in the Asian Cup match will tell us about how Virat is trying to play balls outside the off-stump without trying to reach for it. He is no longer trying to reach for the balls on outside the offstump and play his trademark cover-drives and extra cover-drives. Instead they are now patiently judged and then swiftly played to the square of the wicket or simply left off as required. The square drive and late cuts have become an integral part of his batting, adding to his already world class shot range and further establishing his name as an absolute dominating batting mainstay.

2) Temperament and Patience:

Another area of concern for Kohli was his lack of patience and temperament to stay for long periods at the crease in case he fails to middle a few balls. A few quality deliveries when he arrives at the crease and then if someone comes up with a tempting yet a good ball, then he sure will try and send it to the boundary. Such situations more often than not make his innings. But it has broken them too in crunch situations, like the world cup final where Josh Hazlewood’s contained him superbly in his first over by pitching all balls outside the offstump. In the next over, Mitch Johnson came up with a fantastic yet highly tempting short ball and was particularly in Kohli’s zone but the pressure and the flaws in his preparedness saw him fall for the bait. Well here too, he has learnt adjust. If the last test against South Africa and a few innings in Asia Cup, T20 World Cup and the recent innings against West Indies where he smashed a double century were to show us something, it tells us about how Virat wasn't bothered despite missing a few balls and looked determined to stay in the middle. A few tempting balls outside the off-stump earlier used to be edged to the slips but now it is quietly left to the keeper. The calmness and composure which wasn't earlier visible is now helping the Delite take his batting to a whole new level.

With india preparing itself in the coming months for a series of test matches against the top ranked countries like England, New Zealand and Australia, it will surely want its captain to be at his peak form. So let’s hope the tweaks that the 27 year old has made to his batting will help him take his batting to another planet and lead to the team’s victories.