Yet to plan on how to stop Virat Kohli says Darren Lehmann

What’s the story?

Australia coach Darren Lehmann has said his team still does not have any clue on how to stop Indian captain Virat Kohli when they tour the country later this month.

"Bowl well and have a bit of luck along the way," Lehmann was quoted by India Today when asked about their plans to stop Kohli.

"For us we're going to have to come up with an ideal plan that works for us, depending on (the) wickets and what's going on. At the end of the day, you're going to have to bowl enough good balls and that's going to be the challenge for our spinners and for our quicks, challenging his defence and making sure he's playing in the areas we want him to play."

In case you did not know

The 28-year-old Indian skipper has been in tremendous form of late. He is coming into this series after some brilliant outings against England, where he scored 55 runs at an astonishing average of 109.16 from 5 Tests. He was awarded the man-of-the-series for his performances and it helped India win the series 4-0.

Therefore now he stands as a huge obstacle for Steve Smith and his men who are looking to clinch their first Test series in India since 2004.

Also against Australia Kohli is a different player altogether. So far he has six Test centuries against them and averages a healthy 60.76.

The heart of the matter

Even after minutely going through videos Australia are yet to devise a plan on how to stop Indian team skipper Virat Kohli, who has been in terrific form of late. Their coach Darren Lehmann says that they will need a bit of luck to dismiss the Indian talisman cheaply.

It is surely going to be a difficult task for the Aussies as Kohli hasn’t had a lean series in the past two years. Even in Australia last year Kohli was brilliant in leading his side from the front.

What’s next?

It will be interesting to what strategy does the Australian side adopt against Kohli. A lot of teams have often attacked his off stump as they see the outswinger as one of his weaknesses. Surely, Australia have picked it up and maybe they will do the same couple with a few short deliveries.

Sportskeeda’s take

It is not easy to rattle a player of Kohli’s stature who thrives on bigger challenges. He has been a terrific run-getter and there’s no reason why the Australian series will be different. Trust him to be India’s talisman once more if Australia fail to plot his downfall soon.