STATS REVEAL WEAKNESSES IN VIRAT’S ARMOUR

Since the end of the 2015 World Cup, Virat Kohli has been without doubt the world’s premier ODI batsman. In that time, Kohli has scored 3,996 runs at an average of 83.25. Stopping Kohli is essential to beating India in the ODI format. CricViz analyst Freddie Wilde has looked at the data to investigate how teams should counter Kohli.

BOWLER TYPES

Kohli is a strong player of pace & spin — averaging over 50 vs both bowler-types. He is significantly stronger against spin though, with an average of nearly 74 compared to 55 against the quicks.

LEFT-ARM SPIN: BOWL FAST, ACCURATELY

Kohli is exceptionally strong against left-arm spin which make the margins for error very small. Key to bowling to him is the speed and the length. Ball-tracking analysis shows Kohli averages 201 against balls slower than 88 kph but just 46 against balls faster than 88 kph. However, bowling faster is only part of the problem. Left-arm spinners need to combine this extra pace with accuracy and pitch the ball on a classic good length, against which his average drops to just 22.

OFF-SPIN: BOWL FAST

Higher speeds dismiss Kohli significantly more often than slower speeds, with his dismissal rate against balls above 88 kph dropping to 58 compared to 80 for balls slower than that.

LEG SPIN: BOWL STRAIGHT

The key for leg spinners is the line. Kohli’s brilliant footwork and supple wrists make him an expert in working the ball away when given even a hint of width. But if leg spinners can pitch the ball in line with the stumps, Kohli can be less confident about whether to play with or against the spin. His average against balls pitching in line is only 35 compared to 148 against balls outside the line.

RIGHT-ARM PACE: WIDE OUTSIDE OFF-STUMP

For the right-arm quicks, the best option to Kohli is to bowl wide outside offstump - hoping for some lateral movement and hoping for a mistake. Against balls that have pitched wide outside off-stump Kohli’s average drops to 43 compared to 68 against balls any straighter than that. Only 27% of balls faced by Kohli from right-arm quicks have been wide outside off but deliveries on this line brought 38% of his dismissals.

LEFT-ARM PACE: SHORT FROM OVER THE WICKET

Left-arm pace poses Kohli most problems. In particular, against left-arm over the wicket — with the angle across reducing the reliance of the bowler on lateral movement. The key to bowling to Kohli from over the wicket is length — he is strong against full and good lengths but struggles against short lengths, with his average falling from 64 to 30 when the ball is shorter than eight metres. Closer analysis shows that Kohli struggles most against short lengths when the balls pass the stumps in the channel outside off stump. Four of his nine wickets from this angle and length have come when top edging pull shots. He averages 70 pulling right-arm quicks, 24 pulling left-armers.