Sunil Gavaskar wants 'puncher' Virat Kohli to improve consistency, gives important advice

Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar on Tuesday advised Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli to punch the ball straight instead of looking to guide it towards the third man. Gavaskar said that Kohli should stick to his strengths while playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where the Indian skipper hasn't been able to perform consistently for the past couple of years. The legendary batsman, while presenting on Star Sports, said Kohli's strength is to smash the ball towards extra cover and he should stick to that instead of trying to steal a single by guiding the ball, adding "He should not be the tickler, he should be the puncher". 

Kohli was dismissed early on in the first innings during RCB's game against Delhi Capitals (DC) last night. Kohli scored 12 off 11 balls before he was bowled out by young DC pacer Avesh Khan, who got the prized wicket after the Indian skipper tried to direct the ball towards the third man but instead edged it into the stumps. Kohli has 163 runs from the 6 games that he has played for RCB in IPL 2021 so far. The right-handed batsman has two 30 plus scored and a fifty to his name, but has also been dismissed cheaply on three occasions. 

Gavaskar, while talking on Star Sports, said people expect big scores from Kohli every time he comes out to bat because of the high standards he has set for himself, adding that he should be looking to fire and get more runs. "What he tried to do today was that he tried to tickle the ball for a single when he should be looking to drive the ball or punch it around the extra cover area so that's exactly what he has to do. He has got to play it straight, he shouldn't look to guide the ball to the third man because you want somebody like a Virat Kohli to be punching as he does," Gavaskar said. 

DC vs RCB

Thanks to AB de Villiers, RCB reached a respectable total of 171 in 20 overs after being bamboozled at one stage by Delhi bowlers, who managed to pick early wickets, including skipper Virat Kohli's and in-form opener Devdutt Padikkal. Australian superstar Glenn Maxwell scored 25 off 20 before he was dismissed by veteran spinner Amit Mishra. Rajat Patidar and AB de Villiers forged an important partnership of 54 runs before the former was sent back to the pavilion by Axar Patel. 

de Villiers continued with the batting and took his team from 139/5 to 171 as he unleashed himself towards the back end of the first inning. The former South African cricketer scored an incredible 75 off just 42 balls, including 5 sixes and 3 boundaries. 

When Delhi Capitals came to bat in the second inning, they lost Shikhar Dhawan and Steve Smith early. Prithvi Shaw scored 21 off 18 before being dismissed by purple-cap holder Harshal Patel. Australian batsman Marcus Stoinis was dismissed by Harshal Patel for 22 off 17. DC's skipper Rishabh Pant and Shimron Hetmyer stayed in until the last ball as they both scored fifty each for their team. However, despite their brilliant performances with the bat, the duo couldn't take Delhi across the finish line and lost the game by just 1 run.  

(Image Credit: PTI/AP)