WTC Final: Former England captain sounds alarm bells for Australia, says 'in run chases, there is Virat Kohli and...'

The Day 4 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final turned out to be an evenly-matched contest at Kennington Oval, London.

SportsTak

• Sun • 11 Jun 2023

The Day 4 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final turned out to be an evenly-matched contest at Kennington Oval, London. Despite good cricket in patches from India, Australia set a gigantic 444-run target which will require a herculean attempt from Indian batters to even get close to. With 280 more runs needed on Day 5 on a pitch that has not deteriorated much and Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane in the middle, India have reason to believe that the game is still in the balance and set for an ultimate showdown.

With Kohli in the middle, India will be confident of pulling off a miracle at The Oval. When it comes to run chases, Kohli is in a league of his own. Over the years, the maverick batter has won numerous white-ball matches for India while chasing a score. Now, Kohli is standing on the cusp of another collosal feat.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain reckons that Kohli is the greatest batter in the history of cricket when it comes to run chases.

"If there is one player in world cricket that you want in a run chase in any format, it is obviously Virat Kohli," Hussain said on the ICC's Digital Daily after day 4 of the WTC Final.

"In run chases, in the history of the game, there is Virat Kohli, there is daylight and then there is the rest. He is always going to be the key man," he added.

Kohli's record on Day 5 of a Test is spectacular. The former Indian captain has batted 14 times on Day 5 of a Test match in his career so far. Kohli has scored 696 runs at a fantastic average of 69.60. The chase master has also scored three centuries in his Test career on Day 5.

When it comes to 4th innings of a Test match, Kohli's record is better than his overall record in red-ball cricket. In 27 innings, the right-handed batter has scored 1,033 runs at an average of 49.19. He has scored two centuries and seven half-centuries in 4th innings of Tests in his career.