Team India suffered an embarrassing 0-3 whitewash in the recently held home Test series against New Zealand. This outcome has put the Indian batters on the firing line.
In particular, senior batter Virat Kohli has come under the scanner for not being able to match up to his lofty standards in Test cricket for the past few years. Ever since 2020, Kohli has just scored two Test tons while he has managed to cross fifty just once in the six Tests so far in 2024.
Kohli was troubled by the Bangladesh and Kiwi spinners in this home Test season, returning with scores of 6, 17, 47, 29*, 0, 70, 1, 17, 4 and 1. As a result, his Test average has dropped to 47.83. He currently has 9040 runs to his name from 118 Tests, including 29 centuries.
With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy around the corner, Australian legend Ricky Ponting has described Virat Kohli’s dip in form as ‘concerning’. However, Ponting believes Kohli has the ability to turn his fortunes around.
“I saw a stat the other day about Virat, it said he’s only scored two (three) Test hundreds in the last five years. That didn’t seem right to me, but if that is right, then that is, I mean, that’s a concern. There wouldn’t be anyone else probably even playing international cricket as a top-order batsman that’s only scored two Test match hundreds in five years," Ponting said on the latest episode of ICC Review.
“There’s no doubt, he’s a great of the game. He loves playing against Australia. In fact, I know he loves playing against Australia. And as I said, his record (in Australia) is very good.
“If there’s a time for him to turn it around, it’d be this series. So I wouldn’t be surprised to see Virat make runs in the first game," he added.
All eyes will be on Virat Kohli in the upcoming five-Test series in Australia. Kohli loves the rivalry against Australia and has played some of his best Test knocks Down Under.
The star batter has played 25 Test innings on Australian soil, amassing 1352 runs at an average of 54.08 with six hundreds and four half-centuries. He was the captain of the Indian team that won the first-ever Test series in Australia in 2018-19.
