Virat Kohli said that he was looking to regain form in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, where his performances in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy have not been up to his usual standards. Having started the series on a high with a 30th Test century in Perth, Kohli’s form has tailed off since then in Adelaide and Brisbane, scoring 7, 11, and 3.

Why Is Virat Kohli Struggling To Score Runs?

The former India captain himself admitted that most of the recent struggles he is undergoing are due to lack of discipline, especially with respect to playing deliveries outside off stump. He tends to fish outside the off stump, which has become one of the main problems that Kohli has faced during the last few years in terms of losing important wickets. Still, he is determined to correct that flaw and get his batting right in the remaining tests of the series.

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Lack Of Discipline: A Reason Behind Kohli’s Poor Form

“The last 2-3 innings haven’t gone the way I wanted them to. As I said, haven’t been disciplined enough to stick in there and grind out. That is the challenge of Test cricket. These pitches are much more livelier than the last times we played here. There is a different approach required, but that is something I have taken a lot of pride in, as I want to counter different conditions and step up when the team needs me to. The idea is to get stuck in there, get your eye set in, play enough balls, but respect the conditions,” Kohli told Ravi Shastri before the start of play on Thursday.

Virat Kohli On Playing At Melbourne Cricket Ground

“A special place. Right from my first tour, I understood the occasion of the Boxing Day Test. Good memories, On the last tour that I played here, we won and took the lead in the series, so that was memorable. In 2014/15 got a ton here. Pretty special memories across formats,” he said.

Virat Kohli is keen to bring out this quality into the fore and rise to the challenge in Melbourne as he hopes to turn the fortunes around and contribute massively to India’s success in the last two Tests.

Following The Game Plan And Staying Disciplined

“Expectations are always going to be there. What is important is to understand your own plans. My idea is to follow my game plan and stay disciplined. Understanding the situation of the game has brought me success. I really understand what the team needs from me. If I walk in early, it’s a different situation than capitalising and stretching the advantage.”

“If you would’ve told us we were going to be 1-1, we would’ve taken it with both hands,” Kohli added.

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India’s Playing XI Change: Washington Sundar in, Shubman Gill Out

India made a significant change to their playing XI before the Boxing Day Test by replacing Shubman Gill with all-rounder Washington Sundar. With this move, the team will now have a different balance as Sundar is someone who can contribute with both bat and ball. This indicates that India are trying to balance their team to improve their chances of winning in Melbourne.