India captain Virat Kohli has not been at his usual best in the ongoing five-match Test series against England. The batsman has managed to score just 124 runs in five innings including a half-century in the second innings of the third Test at Headingley, Leeds.
Kohli got out in a similar fashion in all five innings, nicking the ball outside off-stump to the wicketkeeper or to the slip-cordon.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain has said that the going will only get tougher for Kohli as he is unsure of the balls outside his off-stump. He pointed out the technical issue the Indian skipper was facing.
“Kohli has played at balls he could be leaving, he seems to have that slight technical issue I highlighted in these pages with the positioning of his back foot and he is not picking up the line of Anderson and Robinson. Kohli is not sure whether to play or leave and whether to set himself for the inswinger or not. He doesn't know what to do. It's high-class bowling and it's not going to get any easier for him,” Nasser Hussain wrote in The Daily Mail.
He added that Kohli batted well on day three at Headingley, but said that the old ball made it easier for him.
“He did go through a spell on the third day, admittedly against an older ball, where he was leaving it well. But it's harder to leave the new ball because it swings later, and he was out again on Saturday in a familiar manner,” he added.
The fourth Test will begin on 2 September at the Oval.
