Kohli’s struggles against spin hurting India

“It was more of a shock to get Kohli out with a full toss. He doesn’t miss many of those. It was slightly slower in the air, and I was trying to change it up a bit. They usually go for a six,” Santner later said.

Kohli’s approach may have been influenced by the play in the first hour when Santner relentlessly tested both edges of Shubman Gill’s blade, before catching him in front with one that didn’t turn.

He wanted to be out there — as was evident by the pace with which he got out of the dressing room and onto the field. But having seen Gill get out, he wanted to cover for the leg before. So, he stood with a more open stance.

But he was a batter in a hurry, trying to score quick runs before the demons on the Day 2 pitch at Pune showed up. A mental error followed and the crowd that had cheered him to the middle was stunned into silence.

In context of this particular match, Kohli’s failure could also be attributed to being one of the many batters who chose to take the aggressive route on a challenging surface. But Kohli is different or at least, he should be. His wicket has always carried a premium. More so after Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were deemed past their best by the selectors.

For a side in transition, Kohli was supposed to be the rock. But to India’s dismay, he has simply been blown away by the tide. His numbers have seen a sharp decline. He averaged 55.6 between 2012-20. In the following years (2021-24), his average has dropped to 34. At home, these numbers see an even sharper fall - from 68.9 to 32.9.

As home pitches became more demanding of batters to suit spinners, India’s younger batters began to attack more. Batting wagon wheels began to have an unconventional look. Kohli has tried to employ different tricks too - open stances against spin, more sweep shots, slog sweeps even. But the surety of footwork, a hallmark of his game against spin, has taken a beating.

One of the less talked about aspects of the India No 4’s strong body of work was how unhurried he was against spin. It shows in his 1866 runs against spin at home at an average of 74.6 between 2012-2020. In the years to follow, he averages only 28.7 for his 574 runs. Previously, Kohli’s dismissal rate against spin and pace stood at 50% despite facing up to a lot of spin. Now, 20 of his past 24 dismissals at home have come against spin.

Kohli’s extended struggle in a format that was once considered to be his strong suit warrants immediate remedy. Sunil Gavaskar recently critiqued Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s call not to play the Duleep Trophy before the home Test season.

“Once a player hits the mid-thirties in any sport, then regular competition will help him maintain the high standards he has set. When there’s a longish gap then the muscle memory weakens somewhat and to get back to the high standards from earlier is not easy,” Gavaskar remarked in his column for Mid-day.

At the time, Kohli may not have felt the same way but watching his contemporary Joe Root amass runs and supersede him in the race to overtake Sachin Tendulkar’s statistical feats would not have escaped his attention.

For a long time, so overwhelming has been India’s focus on winning overseas that it would be taken for granted that things would fall into place at home. A designer pitch would be summoned, the spinners would roll the opposition over, and batters would hold their end of the bargain. Now, the apple cart has been disturbed and bang in the middle of it is Kohli.