Going to the five-match Test series in Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, the Indian team aims to get full support in the batting department from Virat Kohli, their former captain of the red-ball side, who has enjoyed this pace and bouncy conditions most of the times. He remains to be the center of attraction as they prepare themselves for their third successive series victory, down under.
Virat Kohli was the second leading run-getter of the BGT 2014/15 with the help of 692 runs in eight innings at an average of 86.50 and a strike rate of over 60, shouldering on four centuries and one half-century at the best score of 169. In the following trip, he cracked 282 runs in seven innings at an average of over 40 with the help of one century and one fifty.
The veteran missed the entire tour of the 2020/21 summer, apart from the opening day-night fixture in Adelaide, due to family reasons. He is now back at his ‘home away from home’ and will now get the lost rhythm of the ongoing year back in the red-ball format.
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In 2024, Virat Kohli smashed only 250 runs in 12 innings at an average of 22.72 and a strike rate of around 70 with one half-century on his name. Out of these, only 93 runs in six innings at an average of 15.50 came in the six innings at home against the Blackcaps, where the team lost their first home Test series since 2011/12 and was whitewashed for the first time in more than two decades.
Sanjay Manjrekar backs this Australian bowler to trouble Virat Kohli
While making a recent interaction on how the Delhi-born is expected to perform in the upcoming series, the former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar felt that the hosts would have their plans in place for Kohli, who would be aware of what to expect from the pace battery of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
“Virat Kohli knows exactly what’s going to be planned. They will start with that line outside the off-stump and gauge what his mood is. There das he looks to leave the balls outside the off-stumps, and if they have anything that’s pitched right up, he will look to drive.” Sanjay addressed this during the discussion.
He pointed out the tactics that the Kiwis used to get the better of the batter in the recent series. The former Mumbai batter backs Hazlewood to keep on bowling in the middle stump line to get the better of the batter.
“Nowadays, they are also trying to cramp him for room and attack his body because he loves to get forward so much. So that’s something New Zealand tried, which is very smart. And then, if he is so focused outside off, that typical one (plan) of landing a ball on the middle stump, which Josh Hazlewood would try.” He added.
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Overall, Virat Kohli has cracked 1352 runs in 25 innings down under in the five-day format of the game at an average of over 54 and a strike rate of 53.14 with the help of six centuries and four half-centuries with a best score of 169. Against the opposition across the world, he has grabbed 2042 Test runs at an average of 47.48 with a best score of 186.
The last encounter between them was the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25, where Kohli failed to carry the team home. However, at the Optus Stadium in Perth, his eyes will be firing towards the target.
