Australian bowler Scott Boland has revealed his strategy to dismiss Virat Kohli for the third time in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series. Scott Boland said the team has clear plans when bowling to Virat Kohli, adding that Australia are adjusting their line-up slightly at fifth stump.
Virat Kohli scored 17 runs off 69 balls on Day 1 of the Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Friday, January 3. The Men in Blue were bowled out for 185 in the first innings. In reply, Australia ended the day at 1/9 with Jasprit Bumrah dismissing Usman Khawaja on the last ball of the day.
We have pretty much set plans as to how we want to turn to it – Scott Boland
Scott Boland said Virat Kohli tends to drop a lot of deliveries early but wants to play the ball once he settles at the crease. Boland noted that he adjusts his lines at fifth stump once Kohli settles in and added that this has been effective so far in this series.
“We've got pretty set plans on how we want to fight them. He feels like he leaves a lot and then wants to play the ball once he gets in. So once he comes in, we just want to change our lines a little bit to the fifth stump and it's working at the moment,” Boland said of Fox Cricket of Australia's success against Kohli this season.
Virat Kohli could have been dismissed for a golden duck off Scott Boland
Virat Kohli could have been dismissed on his first ball when a catch was ruled out by the third umpire as the ball appeared to touch the ground. He was eventually caught brilliantly by Beau Webster at third slip off the bowling of Scott Boland.
The pressure from Australia's bowling was too much for Kohli, who clipped a ball outside the body and was caught in the crease. This marked the fourth time Boland had dismissed Kohli in Tests. Boland picked up the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal (10), Rishabh Pant (40) and Nitish Kumar (0) in the first innings.
His natural angle makes him very difficult for righties – Beau Webster
Australian debutant Beau Webster praised Scott Boland for his relentless bowling style. Webster pointed out that Boland has the ability to find wickets regardless of the conditions. He also noted that Boland's consistency with his line and length make him especially challenging for right-handers.
“If there's something in the wicket, he finds, and if there's nothing in the wicket, he still manages to find a way,” Webster said. “He's relentless. You think it's his line and his length and his natural angle that makes him very difficult for right-handers, but when we see him turn southpaws all the way to lefties, it's impressive.”
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