'Everybody is so used to him scoring so many hundreds': Gavaskar unpacks Kohli’s extraordinary conversion rate

Sunil Gavaskar (R), Virat Kohli (L) / Pic: AFP

After India's phenomenal win in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Star Sports experts and cricketing legends Sunil Gavaskar and Matthew Hayden shared their insights on Virat Kohli, his prowess as a player, and his adjustments to counter the Australian attack.

Speaking exclusively on Star Sports during the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar spoke about how players feel after scoring a century for the country. "Oh yes, oh yes, I tell you what, for your country, man, it's an unbelievable feeling! It's just an unbelievable feeling to wear your country's cap. That's the dream of every school kid. Then you know, you say to yourself, 'I don't want to make a fool of myself at the international level,' at least that's what I thought. I don't want to make a fool of myself. You know, even if I get 60-70, if I get into my first series, I get 300 runs, 250 runs, I'll be happy. I've not made a fool of myself. But then, once you get a hundred, it's like an addiction. You want to get a hundred every time. It's like, 'Oh, I love it. I love getting a hundred. I love raising my bat. I love that little thump on my back when I get back in the change room with everybody.' That is, you know, I mean, it's just unbelievable. It just becomes an addiction. You want a hundred all the time. That's why there is so much, you know, deep gnashing and all that when you miss out on a hundred.

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On Kohli's conversion rate

"It's like I said in commentary that Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafa Nadal, they are title winners. If they lose in the semi-finals, people say, 'Oh, they're not in form.' Anybody else getting into the semi-finals, you would say, 'Oh, what a wonderful performance.' Similarly, with Virat Kohli, because everybody is so used to him scoring so many hundreds quite regularly, when he doesn't score 100, even if he's getting 70-80 - which a lot of guys will be very happy to get - people say, 'Look, he's not scoring runs.' And that is the reason why there was that feeling. But then again, Indian fans, they're greedy fans. They're not going to be happy with their idol scoring only 60-70s. They want their icons, their idols, to score hundreds, and that is the reason there was this little talk about, 'Oh, he hasn't got a hundred since July 2023.' July 2023 is just about a year ago."

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On Kohli's batting stance

His body was completely relaxed when he came into bat in the second innings. In the first innings, because of the fact that India had lost two wickets early, he would have also been under pressure. In that second innings, you could sense apart from changing that stance, I think he also got his legs, which were maybe just a little bit wider at the start. Just a little bit, maybe I'm thinking too much, but that little thing might have given him that height he wanted. Well, in Australia, on the bouncier pitches, you need that edge. I liked that mid-wicket boundary that he hit off Hazlewood. That, to me, was not the easiest of shots. A straight drive is a little easier because your stance is like that, but just to open up a little bit and play that - that was all magic. It was a magic shot. On commentary, I kept saying, 'Show it again. Show it again.'

Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden also commented on Kohli's stance adjustments in the second innings. He explained: "You know, during the start of this morning, I think it's a very good point because the reverse can be said also to someone touring to India and having to lower their stance. I know I certainly did that. But being able to be a little more upright means that your head position has to stay on top of the bounce so that it starts to work in your favour. I said right from the start that I actually liked his move, batting in more line with the ball. I thought that was a good strategy. I think he loves to play like that, and we saw some classic cases where he just eased the ball through mid-wicket. But you can't do that from outside off stump, so getting into the line, I thought, was important."

"The other little adjustment that you mentioned, being a little more upright, so he could stay on top of the bounce, was also really important. If you're getting closer to the ball like he was - another thing, I think, was probably playing the ball later. When he's not in his best form, he goes quite hard, feeling for the ball. He wants to feel the ball on the bat, particularly on the front foot. But he just seemed to give himself a little more time and be a little softer."

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