Five bowlers from the past who could have troubled Virat Kohli

Cricket writers are having genuine trouble foraging superlatives for Virat Kohli and his endless run of rich form. Seldom has a batsman had such an authoritative hold over an era of bowlers, one that has stretched across formats and has been in place for multiple seasons now, already earning him a place among the greats of the modern game.

While Kohli has had the upper hand over most contemporary bowlers, a select few from yesteryear could have given the 28-year-old a run for his money in their pomp.

Here are five bowlers from the 1990s who could have effected a few skirmishes on Kohli's recent spotless record:

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#5 Glenn McGrath

Possessing an action as smooth as a hot knife slicing through butter, McGrath, for the entirety of his career, managed to land the ball exactly where he wanted to. His unerring accuracy, especially on the off-stump to a right-hander, nagged the best of batsmen, prising out false strokes even from the most defensive of shields.

Kohli shuffles from the middle to the off stump while playing pacers: he also tends to open up his hip just a little when expecting inswinging deliveries from them. He may have improved by leaps and bounds from his horrid self who suffered against James Anderson in 2014, but he still plays the ball with hard hands on the off-side, presenting a chance to edge the ball behind him when met with a ball pitched on the off-stump and deviating slightly away.

Also, McGrath, with the height that he possesses, managed to give the ball some extra lift: while Kohli doesn’t have any apparent weaknesses against the short ball, he would have had to adjust his technique to counter the extra bounce that ‘Pigeon’s’ deliveries would take on the off stump, right within the corridor of uncertainty.

#4 Curtly Ambrose

Ambrose has troubled the best of batsmen in the past

Standing tall at 6 feet 7 inches, Ambrose’s height would have been the first challenge for Kohli. He might have faced a 7-footer Mohammad Irfan, but the remarkable accuracy from Ambrose, coupled with the extreme pace he had in the initial part of his career, would have set the alarm bells ringing for the current Indian skipper.

With his high arm action angling the ball into right-handers, any subtle movement away from the batsman would be difficult to play.

Also, he had the tendency to pitch the ball in areas that made the batsman ask the pertinent question: should I play the ball, or leave it?

He would set the batsman up often, moving one ball slightly away after pitching it just outside off stump, then following it up with a perfect inswinger that used to find just enough space to sneak through the gap between the bat and front pad, a problem Kohli has had to face at certain points in his career.

On swifter pitches away from home, the 28-year-old would have had some trouble adjusting to Ambrose’s barrage of genuinely pacy deliveries.

#3 Waqar Younis

Waqar in full flow

An express speedster who moved the ball remarkably, Waqar Younis was the official stump-shattering machine of the 1990s.

While Kohli has managed to cut open Lasith Malinga on multiple occasions, the Sri Lankan’s slinging inswingers are totally different from those hurled by Younis in his prime. Waqar generated tremendous speeds, always aiming for the stumps. His deliveries used to swing prodigiously through the air and cut further in on pitching.

Kohli has not been exposed to genuine reverse swing in international cricket’s current form; the aggressive art has given way to a more conservative form of bowling in today’s slam-bang era. A taste of Younis’ oscillating deliveries could have been more than a handful, even for an in-form Kohli.

#2 Saqlain Mushtaq

Saqlain Mushtaq could bowl the classical off-spin, the doosra and the top-spinner without a change in grip

While Kohli has dodged the mystery spinners of the current era (he has only got out thrice in a combined 18 ODIs against Saeed Ajmal and Sunil Narine), Saqlain Mushtaq, in his pomp, was made from finer cloth. His control of the ball was so competent that he used to be employed in the death overs in the initial part of his career.

The flagbearer of the ‘doosra’, Mushtaq used to beat the batsmen in flight, first enticing them into a false stroke, and then bamboozling them with turn and variable bounce. Without a perceptible change in his grip, he would bowl the classical off-spin, the doosra and the top-spin.

Kohli never lets a spinner get the better of him, hardly getting tied down even when faced with a challenging spell. He uses his feet well to counter the turn, attacking in phases and getting the scoreboard moving to keep the pressure off him.

However, Mushtaq, and his quiver full of variations, would have made it difficult for Kohli to settle down, forcing him to adapt on the go to Mushtaq’s often undecipherable offerings.

#1 Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram was one of the best exponents of swing bowling

One battle that would have been a treat to watch for either side’s followers, a rampaging Wasim Akram, on his day, could have been a challenge and a half for Kohli. Akram’s control over the ball, both red and white, was incomparable, and his variations made it difficult to premeditate strokes against his bowling.

With a quick arm action that made it difficult to gauge the pace of the ball from the hand, Akram’s movement made up for the relative lack of express speed.

The angle that a left-arm pacer generates from over the wicket to a right-hander is always difficult to score off: the resulting lack of room and the possibility of late swing are added concerns.

His exceptionally deceptive slower ball, and the knack to slip in an unpredictable bouncer, made him an all-round package. The zip he used to get off the pitch could have been a genuine test even for a composed Kohli.