Kohli brings out alternative arsenal to counter spin bowling ahead

Before the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2024, Virat Kohli has been in outstanding form in the Indian Premier League

With his knock, Kohli extended his lead at the top of the run-scorers list (634 runs in 12 matches) in the IPL, becoming the first batter this season to breach the 600-run barrier.

One of the key aspects of the innings was the use of the slog sweep against the spinners and after yet another whirlwind knock, Kohli spoke about bringing back the shot from his wide arsenal to counter the spinners.

“I’ve brought out the slog-sweep to the spinners (laughs). I just mentally put myself in that situation and I didn’t practice it at all,” Kohli said after winning the Player-of-the-Match award.

I’ve hit it a lot in the past, so I know I can hit it. I simply thought that I needed to take a little more chances, and that shot was one I used to make frequently in the past. I’m constantly trying to expose that side of the field against the spin, so it’s also helping me to hit off the back foot.

“In my opinion, that has played a major role in this IPL. Therefore, I believe that all it takes is a little more conviction and the removal of the supporting notion, “what if you get out?”

“In the middle overs of this IPL, I’ve been able to stay ahead of that thought, which has really helped me, keeping my strike rate up and the team’s scoring rate going as well.”

The Indian player has amassed a massive amount of runs, but in recent weeks, there has been much discussion about his strike rate and efficacy against spin bowling.

After his performance against Sunrisers Hyderabad last month, Kohli came under fire for his 51 off 43 balls, which translated to a strike rate of 118.60. He was off to a quick start, making 32 off his first eighteen balls, but he could not sustain the pace, scoring just 19 off his next twenty-five balls.

But against Gujarat Titans, the India No. 3 bounced back with 70* off 44 balls, demonstrating the potency of the sweep stroke against Noor Ahmad, Rashid Khan, and Sai Kishore.

“And there’s a reason why you do it for 15 years – because you’ve done this day in [and] day out; you’ve won games for your teams.”

In the lead-up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA next month, Kohli’s outstanding recent exploits at bat portend good things for the Indian team.

India’s campaign begins on June 5 against Ireland and concludes on June 9 at the newly built Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York with a match against Pakistan.

After that, they will play the co-hosts of the event, the USA (12 June), and Canada (15 June), to complete their Group A fixtures.