Former Australian National Cricket Team wicketkeeper-batsman Ian Healy ordered Pat Cummins & Co. to brutally attack Virat Kohli during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
Ian Healy wants the pace trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood to completely destroy the body of Indian National Cricket Team superstar Virat Kohli.
Make him jump sometimes – Ian Healy
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 is scheduled to begin on November 22 in Perth and Virat Kohli will be a big threat for Australia.
Despite not being in the best form of his life, Kohli is not being written off by the Aussies and they have game plans to deal with him during the marquee Test series.
Ian Healy knows the impact Kohli can make with the bat. So he ordered the Australian pacers to attack Virat Kohli’s body. He wants the speedsters to trouble the corpse with body blows and make him “jump, jump, touch or lean back.”
“Body beat. A bowler on the back-arm is right-handed as a right-handed batsman … and it has to be hot,” Healy told SENQ Breakfast.
“If he wants to ride these deliveries, he sometimes jumps – ducks, weaves or leans back.
“Get a short leg position on the leg side next to him and if you need a bumper, he should be on the mark. He can try to get off a hard spell with a hook or a pull shot and that will be it. It’s hard to control the height of the mark.”
The first match I am looking at is how our batsmen can beat Virat Kohli vs Ian Healy
The match Ian Healy is most excited to see in the five-match Test series involves Virat Kohli. He wants to see how the Australian pacers will beat Kohli in the Perth Test and shares his tips with his fellow countrymen.
“The first matchup I look at is how our batsmen can bat against Virat Kohli and I think they need to target his front pad more often,” he said.
“He sits there on the front foot and can play from anywhere – square offside, flick it to the leg side or drop it back … in his form and maybe aim for that front pad. But don’t do it with every ball because he’ll get used to it… it’s a batting ball that needs to be on the front pad once it’s seamed.”
Virat Kohli made a big record in Australia
Kohli has struggled with the bat in Test cricket this year. In the last home test series against Bangladesh National Cricket Team and New Zealand National Cricket Team, he was terrible.
In both series, he scored below 100 runs and was troubled by pacers and spinners alike. In 2024, Kohli scored 250 Test runs in 6 matches at an average of 22.72, including one fifty.
However, he has a good record in and against Australia and wants to build on that. In 25 Tests against the Aussies, Kohli scored 2042 runs at an average of 47.48 with 8 tons and 5 fifties.
Meanwhile, Kohli continues to improve as in 13 Tests, he has scored 1352 runs at an amazing average of 54.08 to go with 6 tons and 4 fifties.