Virat’s special training before Johannesburg Test

Team India’s ongoing tour of South Africa has been a disaster so far. Poking swinging deliveries outside the off-stump has been a consistent problem of Indian batsmen on the tour. The hosts have exploited this weakness on numerous occasions.

New Delhi/ Johannesburg: Team India’s ongoing tour of South Africa has been a disaster so far. Poking swinging deliveries outside the off-stump has been a consistent problem of Indian batsmen on the tour. The hosts have exploited this weakness on numerous occasions.

Along with other big guns in the batting line-up, skipper Kohli too has struggled with good length deliveries around the off-stump channel. Ahead of the third and final Test in Johannesburg, Virat was seen addressing the problem in the practice session on Monday.

Dhananjay, the computer analyst of the Indian team stood alongside Virat with an I-pad. Dhananjay stood at silly-point (almost at 45 degree angle) and video-graphed Virat while batting.

The Johannesburg pitch is considered a paradise for the fast bowlers. Greenery on the pitch along with the wind helps the bowlers to swing the ball from both ends. The likes of Philander, Rabada, Morkel and young sensation Ngidi are all set to exploit the conditions once again.

Filming a batsman from standing behind the bowler or from the back is very common and the computer analysts often do it but video-graphing from silly-point position was done to get a proper view of whether Virat was making same mistakes as before or not. In the practice session itself, Virat looked at the recordings and tried to rectify his mistakes.

India has already lost the three match Test series and trail South Africa 0-2. If Virat’s army is looking for a consolatory win in the final Test, then the team along with the skipper will have to find the solution to the swinging deliveries of the Proteas quartet.