3 reasons why Virat Kohli is successful in England this time around

The Indian skipper left no stone turned this time around during his visit to England. He was 4 years wiser, calmer and stoic in his approach of countering the green pitches and swinging conditions provided to him by the English team.

He proved his critics wrong in his very first outing in whites in England after that horrific and mostly forgettable tour for him last time. It was a major test of character for him and he came around nicely this time by smashing a breathtaking 149 in the first innings and followed it up with a 51 in the second innings at Edgbaston.

By his own admission, he rated his 149 as second only to his 141 in the second essay at Adelaide in 2014, but the results in both the matches ended up on the wrong side for India. So, what changed this time around for him?

Well, the foremost thing was his attitude that played a very big role in him being able to conquer the tough English conditions to come out on top. Here are 3 reasons why Kohli was successful in exorcising his demons this time around.

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#1 Guard change for the Indian skipper

In England, it is very important to leave as many numbers of balls as possible but it is also important to score off the bad balls. With the likes James Anderson and Co. hardly delivering half volleys, it is important to keep the scoreboard ticking.

The back and across movement of Kohli was always going to be a red flag for him, and he is the kind of batsman who likes to feel the ball on his bat. So to counter it he started taking the guard from the middle stump, which was a huge change from the leg stump guard that he preferred.

This helped him in leaving the ball that landed on the 4th and 5th stump line, but it still made him a prime candidate for LBW, for which he trusted his hand-eye coordination and wristy flicks.

#2 Playing inside the line

Marked changes in his technique have led to his success

There was a period in the 1st Test at Edgbaston where Kohli was stuck on 21 runs for the 4 testing overs that he faced from his arch-nemesis Anderson who had his number on his previous tour to England.

On that tour, he later mentioned, he was desperate to score runs, which forced him to keep nicking the inswingers and outswingers bowled by Anderson. That all changed after he started playing inside the line of the ball due to the awareness of his off stump.

It prevented him from nicking more balls. His ability to play with soft hands and leave the balls more often also helped him counter the swinging conditions of the Edgbaston.

#3 Batting outside his crease

Kohli gets to his hundred

This was probably the most obvious and visible change that was seen from Kohli ever since he took the crease to bat in the first innings at Edgbaston. It was also the most crucial one as Kohli, unlike Pujara, looks to score runs at every ball possible - a major reason for his success in LOIs.

But unlike the shorter formats of the game, Test cricket needs patience so Kohli was more careful this time. He devised the strategy of standing about a yard and a half outside his crease to limit the ball's swinging movement.

This not only helped him to take out and smother all the dangerous wicket-taking balls but due to his ability to play very late, he was able to successfully score runs in all parts of the ground.

The rest of Indian Team, though they have done pretty well so far in the ongoing 3rd Test, should learn a thing or two from their skipper who likes to lead from the front. The mental adjustments needed to play in English conditions was on display by the skipper in the 2nd innings. He played a masterclass knock of 103 runs in the 3rd Test and the same technique will also help him score truckload of runs in the future as well.