The stage was set perfectly for Indian captain to march out and stamp his authority over first India vs Bangladesh clash in Indore. Cheteshwar Pujara and Mayank Agarwal got the team off to a positive start on day 2. Pujara departed after a well-made 50 and the crowd erupted when the captain walked out. However, it did not prove to be a fruitful stay at the crease for the skipper as he was sent packing by Abu Jayed - who trapped him right in front of the stumps for a duck.
The crowd was stunned into silence as the skipper walked back. There were plenty of questions raging in his mind and in the mind of the cricketing world. For all his consistency and greatness, Virat Kohli has fallen behind Steve Smith in the pecking order as far as his Test numbers are concerned.
Kohli faces problem against the straight ball
One of the biggest reasons why he can never be as prolific as Smith against the red ball is because he tends to get out leg before wicket a lot and bowlers have started targeting him with the straight delivery, especially early on in his innings. He has been out LBW in 28 innings, which is the joint second after being caught by the fielder. Add the 7 bowled and the right-hander has been out 35 times in Test cricket when he has missed the straight ball.
This is a stark contrast to Steve Smith, who almost never misses the straight ball and despite his weird stance and exaggerated movements, he almost every time tucks the straight ball towards mid-wicket and square leg and never fails to make contact. As a result, he is able to rake up astronomical numbers in the longest format and averages in excess of 60. For Kohli, this is one area which needs to be addressed as it will be put under the scanner a lot in the upcoming months, especially when the ball moves in the air and off the surface.
There is a common notion in cricketing circles that while Kohli is the best batsman across all formats, Smith takes the cake as far as Test cricket alone is concerned and the numbers too tell the same story.
"These are questions not to be answered. How does it matter? It's about performance. Virat is the best in the world at the moment. So that's what makes us happy," BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had said while responding to queries.
