Indian top-order batters have struggled a lot against southpaw fast bowlers in the recent past. Be it in the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final against New Zealand or the T20 World Cup 2021 against Pakistan, the trio of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli have failed to find a way to score runs against the left-arm quicks. However, former New Zealand international, Ross Taylor, believes that Kohli doesn’t have any problem dealing with any bowler in the world.
Taylor opined that it was just a coincidence that he got out to left-handers a couple of times in the past. Notably, in the recently concluded ODI series against Australia, Virat struggled a lot against Mitchell Starc as his in-swinger nipped in and trapped him in the first ODI of the series in Mumbai. Even so, Taylor backed Kohli and stated that the former Indian skipper will only be working on the areas he feels is important.
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Explaining the same during a special interaction with the ICC, as per the quotes in ICC, Ross Taylor said, “I think it was more of a coincidence than anything (getting out to left-hand seamers). Virat has been a fantastic player against all bowlers. Sometimes a bowler just by coincidence can have your number.”
He further added, “A left-arm seamer, I guess being lbw is the danger ball swinging back but Virat has been a fantastic player for years and I am sure he will be working on whatever he feels he needs to be. You look at the setup, I have full trust in Virat and what he does.”
Notably, Ross Taylor was part of the New Zealand squad that beat India in the finals of the World Test Championship (WTC) in 2021. However, ahead of this year’s final between India and Australia, Ross Taylor stated that the Steve Smith-led side will be eager to pick Kohli’s wicket this time, or else, the cricketer can go on to score big runs and if need be, can score quickly as well.
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Elaborating the same, Ross Taylor said, “I am sure him coming in at no.4, Indian players will be looking to him but at the same time, the Australian team knows they need to get Virat out early to put that Indian middle-order under pressure. If they don’t, he can score big runs and quick runs.”