‘Flashing outside off is something he’s going to have to resist’: Matthew Hayden on how Virat Kohli can succeed in 4th Test

“There could have been magnificent wins, there could have been losses, there could have been spinning conditions, I mean, you can list off a hundred different areas where Virat Kohli, over his magnificent career, would have batted. But in Melbourne, he’s going to have a good batting track. What he does need to do is find a way to continue staying at the crease. Flashing outside the off-stump is something that he’s going to have to resist. And I suggest – he gets in line with the ball a bit more and looks to play down the ground a little bit more” Hayden told Star Sports.

Hayden also asked Kohli to take a page out of Sachin Tendulkar’s iconic knock of 241 in Sydney in 2004 where the India legend, who was also suffering from a rough patch of form, avoided his trademark offside drives in the entire 613 minutes he was in the middle.

“I know he (Kohli) has a magnificent cover driver, but so did Sachin Tendulkar, and he put it away for a day. I sat in the gully licking my lips, thinking, you know what, this is magnificent, stubborn batting,” Hayden said.

“I didn’t look like getting a catch that day, and yet I felt like I was in the game that entire series. So, Sachin put away the cover drive, worked his way into the innings, hit off his legs beautifully, took on the spin, and addressed the areas of concern. He put a big cross through them and said, ‘Not on my watch today.’ Virat Kohli has got that personality, and I’m sure we’ll see it in Melbourne,” he added.