BGT: Ricky Ponting warns Oz of a turnaround in Virat Kohli’s form, says ‘he loves playing against Australia’
BGT: Ricky Ponting warns Australia of a turnaround in Virat Kohli’s form
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting says the hosts must remain wary of a turnaround in Virat Kohli’s form in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, as India's batting great loves scoring against the Oz, especially in their backyard. Kohli is far from his best run in Tests, having last scored a Test hundred against West Indies last year, but despite his array of poor scores, the batting legend is just one inning away from finding his Midas touch, reckons Ponting.
Against New Zealand in the recently concluded Test series at home, in which India lost 0-3, Kohli scored just 93 runs across six outings, averaging a mere 15.50.
With his struggle against spin making headlines worldwide, Kohli returns to Down Under to continue his love affair against bounce and pace, where he averages 54.08 from 13 Tests, including six hundreds and four fifties.
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Ponting, a batting great himself, refused to judge Kohli for his lean patch, saying great players should never be questioned, and Kohli falls in the same category.
“I’ve said it before about Virat — you don’t ever question the greats of the game. 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 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,” Ponting said to ICC.
Form a concern though
Since the start of this year, Virat’s Test average reads 22.72 from six games – his lowest in Tests in a calendar year since 2011. The dip in his form also resulted in Kohli falling out of the top 20 batters in the ICC Test Rankings for the first time in his career.
Though Ponting remains aware of the threat Kohli brings with him, he showed concern over his stat that reads Virat has scored just two Test hundreds in the past five years.
“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 continued.
Meanwhile, India and Australia will face off in the first Test in Perth starting November 22. The remaining four matches will take place in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, respectively.
(With inputs from agencies)
