Kohli’s Melbourne task defined

Sunil Gavaskarrsquos views on Virat Kohlirsquos dismissal in the first innings of the Brisbane Test during commentary didnrsquot take time to make headlines on social media The one half of the BorderGavaskar Trophy said on Channel 7 that Virat Kohli shouldnrsquot have played at that Josh Hazlewood delivery which according to Gavaskar was on ldquoseventh eighth stumprdquoIn another conversation with Star Sports Gavaskar prescribed that Kohli should take a leaf out of his hero Sachin Tendulkarrsquos book recalling how Tendulkar stayed away from any offside temptations during his double century at Sydney in the final Test of the 200304 seriesBefore Sydney Tendulkarrsquos highest score in the series was a second innings 44 in the previous Test at Melbourne where he endured a golden duck in the first inningsThe quote machinery was doing overtime before and during the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne ldquoTendulkar looks like a man who is struggling to overcome his own doubts and is consumed by anxiety that usually ruins focus and concentrationrdquo said Greg ChappellSandy Gordon the psychologist reckoned Tendulkar hadnrsquot got his rhythm back after the shocking umpiring decision by Steve Bucknor which sent him back at Brisbane Ian Healy the Australian wicketkeeperturned commentator said ldquoI wonder whether he feels all that expectation on his shouldersrdquoRahul Dravid didnrsquot feel alarmed ldquoA lot has been said unnecessarily about his form We believe hersquos in great touch and hitting the ball really well Wersquore looking out for a big score from him hererdquo he saidEven a Melbourne Cricket Club bowler Nick Quinn was quoted ldquoWe didnrsquot expect him to be in there at the nets that long He must be batting himself into formrdquoTendulkarrsquos duck caught Adam Gilchrist bowled Brett Lee on Day One at the MCG only magnified his poor run He worked his way to 44 in the second innings before he was caught behind off Brad Williams this time I moved out of the MCG press box to interview Greg Chappell on how he conquered his big slump in 198182 which included eight ducks in 15 innings across both formatsldquoOnce I realised that it was not a technical problem I started working on my mental process As soon as I got into the right frame of mind and started doing the things which I always did I turned it around straightawayThe next time I batted I made 60 odd and then came a 100 I do not have any doubts that Sachin will turn it aroundrdquo said Chappell He was right Tendulkarrsquos lsquocomebackrsquo was an unbeaten careerbest 241Both sides went into the final Test at Sydney with one each The fifth BorderGavaskar Trophy series couldnrsquot have asked for a better finale And Sourav Ganguly won the toss On January 3 Tendulkar got his runs back smiles back ldquoI thought I had very good disciplinerdquo he said which as the experts knew that was the understatement of the new year It was a delightful press conference to attend Apart from expressing how relieved he was he also revealed that he had fun watching VVS Laxman blast away at the other end ldquoI decided not to do what Laxman was doing attacking It surely was a treat to watch but I said to myself that his game is completely different from the way I have planned my innings I was happy being at the nonstrikerrsquos end and enjoyed watching some good strokeplayrdquo Tendulkar told usNot many teams managed to keep Australia in the field for two full days and Tendulkar played a big part in that Adam Gilchrist who watched the entire innings behind the stumps wasnrsquot surprised ldquoWell Sachin played like Sachin He was very disciplined on the first day and denied himself which I would say made him appear tentative But he was in the groove today and played a marvellous inningsrdquo said GilchristI happened to be in the same elevator as Australian Prime Minister John Howard on my way down to the press conference room ldquoBig day for you guysrdquo he said to me before expressing how ldquogreatrdquo the Indian batting was with Tendulkar and Laxman keeping his countrymen at bayIt was great batting it was a determined display of batting from Tendulkar and there is no reason why Kohli can work his way to his second century of the series at the MCG where he is appreciated admired and adoredmiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzelloSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycom