Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar feels a subtle adjustment to his batting stance in the second innings of the Perth Test helped Virat Kohli neutralise the Australian attack and rediscover his vintage form.

Kohli arrived in Australia after a lean run of form across formats in recent months. His struggles against spin on turning tracks raised doubts about his spot in the team.

He, however, silenced his detractors by scoring his 30th Test ton in the first Test at Perth Stadium. It was his first hundred after the 121 against the West Indies at Port of Spain in July last year.

“His body was completely relaxed when he came into bat in the second innings. In the first innings, because of the fact that India had lost two wickets early, he would have also been under pressure,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

“In that second innings, you could sense apart from changing that stance, I think he also got his legs, which were maybe just a little bit wider at the start. Just a little bit, maybe I’m thinking too much, but that little thing might have given him that height he wanted. Well, in Australia, on the bouncier pitches, you need that edge.

“I liked that mid-wicket boundary that he hit off Josh Hazlewood. That, to me, was not the easiest of shots. A straight drive is a littleeasier because your stance is like that, but just to open up a little bit and play that... that was all magic.”

Having got out on 5 in the first innings, Kohli brought all his technical expertise into play while dealing with the vagaries of variable bounce in the second essay as Australian bowlers desperately tried the off-stump line, short ball tactics and even attacking the line of off stump to get the veteran batter out.

Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden also commented on Kohli’s stance adjustments, saying the move to be more upright on a pitch where variable bounce was present worked for Kohli in the second innings.

“It’s a very good point because the reverse can be said also to someone touring India and having to lower their stance. I know I certainly did that. But being able to be a little more upright means that your head position has to stay on top of the bounce so that it starts to work in your favour.

“I said right from the start that I actually liked his move, batting in more line with the ball. I thought that was a good strategy. I think he loves to play like that, and we saw some classic cases where he just eased the ball through mid-wicket. But you can’t do that from outside off stump, so getting into the line, I thought, was important.”

“The other little adjustment, being a little more upright, so he could stay ontop of the bounce, was also really important.”