‘Virat Kohli would pour extra water on Mumbai pitch’ – Sanjay Bangar reveals star batter’s preparation before 2018 England tour

Virat Kohli has earned a legend’s status in Indian cricket with his surreal talent and relentless hard work over the years. He is someone who isn’t afraid to push his limits and get bogged down by failures. Time and again throughout his illustrious career, Kohli has inspired fans with his unmatched competitive drive.

In 2014, Kohli had a horrendous campaign with the bat in the Test series against England. In 10 innings, he scored just 134 runs at an average of 13.40. It was arguably the lowest point of his career. The Delhi batter’s technique against the moving ball was found wanting, and he was mostly dismissed caught by the wicketkeeper or in the slip cordon to ball bowled at the fourth and fifth stump lines.

However, his mental strength and never-say-die attitude helped him slay the demons that haunted him in the United Kingdom when India toured England once again in 2018. This time, Kohli amassed 593 runs in 10 innings at an average of 59.30, notching up two centuries and three fifties. In 2014, Anderson had Kohli’s number but four years later, the legendary seamer couldn’t dismiss the Indian stalwart even once.

Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar revealed that Kohli would wake up early in the morning in Mumbai ahead of the 2018 England tour and bat in the nets to test himself against the moisture on the uncovered surface. Bangar further stated that once the sun was out and the ball stopped moving around, Kohli would literally pour water onto the pitch to ensure that the conditions replicated those he would go on to face in England. Ajinkya Rahane would also join the talismanic batter for a few sessions.

“When you go to England, the entire game comes down to two things: how well you counter the swing, and how late you can play the ball. Because Virat Kohli did not have a great run during the 2014 tour, he put in an immense amount of work during 2017-18 to fix that. Our routine was brutal; we would hit a Mumbai ground by 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning just to chase the early dew. We wanted to start as early as possible so we could replicate English conditions, utilizing the heavy morning atmosphere and the natural moisture on an uncovered pitch,” Bangar said while speaking on The Great Indian Cricket Show on Doordarshan.

“If the sun came out and the moisture on the wicket started dropping, we would literally pour extra water onto the surface just to keep the ball snaking around. Virat did that gruelling practice repeatedly, and Ajinkya Rahane joined in for a few sessions as well. Because three or four of our core batsmen managed to fine-tune their batting through those exact simulations, we were highly successful in winning matches over there,” he added.