Teams around the world, for quite some time now, have adopted the ‘short-ball’ ploy against the Indian batsmen with varied success. New Zealand made it very clear ahead of the ongoing series that they would exploit the conceived weakness of the Indians against pace and bounce. In the first ODI, while the Kiwi pacers bounced four of his batting colleagues out, Virat Kohli showed panache and adeptness. His controlled knock of 123 could well be used as a template by his fellow batsmen. Ahead of the second match, in Hamilton, Virat gave his perspective on the elements that enable a batsman handle the short ball well. Fitness, he said, was the key.
"It's a very personal choice of any team, what sort of plan they want to come up with against us," Virat said.
"I think a lot of teams have tried to bounce us out but that hasn't been the case for the longest time that I have seen. Mostly the bouncer is a plan to set you up for the next ball to nick you off. A bouncer is never to scare you away, it is just to put in the batsman's head that there might be a short ball coming, another one, because you have two in the over now.
"I think as international cricketers, we have got to be good enough to stand up to that challenge and be fit enough to actually react to those deliveries. That's where your fitness counts as well. If you are not fit enough, you might not have the reflexes to actually tackle a ball thrown at 150 kmph and you might be totally exposed or found in a very uncomfortable spot. As I said, we should be prepared to face anything. If it is a seaming wicket, if they are trying to nick us off, then we should be technically correct to tackle that. If they are trying to bounce us out, we should be technically correct to leave the ball or, if confident, pull the ball."
Virat explained his own method of playing the bouncer. "I think even to leave the ball on a bouncer, it is very important to want to hit the ball. If you are looking to leave the ball, your weight is already on the back foot and then you are in no position to leave or hit the ball. If you are looking to hit the ball, you take your body forwards and then you can be balanced enough to duck under it. I think that is one key aspect that a lot of people mistake.
"If you are looking to leave the ball, then more often than not you will get hit on the glove or the helmet. If I am looking to hit the ball, then I can get under the ball much better, I have much better balance because my body is going forward. I have a good base to duck under the ball.
The batsman said that he prefers to pull the bouncer in front of the square rather than hooking it behind. "Even if I am not ducking, if I have a good base, then I have confidence to actually pull the ball and I look to hit it in front of square. I hardly look to hook the ball unless it is on my body, so it gives me more control. It gives you that extra half a second because you know you have to hit the ball in front of square, so you have to be quick enough to do that. You have to be quick enough to tackle the ball coming at 140."
Virat revealed a batting lesson he learnt in South Africa, that of committing yourself physically and mentally to the shot once you decide to play it.
"One thing I learnt in South Africa was when you are batting, whatever you are doing, you need to commit to it fully," he said. "Because people are bowling at you at 140-145 kph, there is not much time to decide and think later on, after the ball is bowled. Whatever you want to do, you got to read the length and commit to the shot. If you want to leave the ball, you have got to commit to that."
