Former Australia captain Michael Clarke is strongly rooting for under fire Virat Kohli and came up with a bold prediction for the third ODI between India and Australia which is slated to be played on October 25 at the SCG. Clarke tipped Virat Kohli to emerge as the leading run-scorer in the game, while he backed Josh Hazlewood to finish as the top wicket-taker.
Michael Clarke predicts Virat Kohli to be the leading run-scorer in 3rd ODI vs Australia
The 44-year-old indicated that he expects Australia to field both Mitchell Starc and Hazlewood in their playing XI, specifically naming Hazlewood as the most likely bowler to claim the highest number of wickets. Regarding the batting, Clarke stood by Kohli to score the most runs, despite the 36-year-old's recent poor form, which saw him dismissed for ducks in the first two games of the series.
“I'm going to say they'll stick with Starc and Hazlewood, and I'll go with Joshy for leading wicket-taker in the game. I've gone with Virat so far; he's got two ducks. I'm going to go with Virat Kohli for leading run-scorer in this game. Hazlewood leading wickets, and Virat leading run-scorer,” Clarke said on the Beyond23 Cricket Podcast.
Clarke expects it to be a thrilling contest, ultimately predicting that India will win the final ODI. He believes a victory for the Men in Blue will provide a significant boost to their confidence heading into the upcoming T20I series.
“And I'm going to say India win, so 2-1 India wins. I predicted 2-1 Australia, so I don't mind if India wins this game, one of my predictions, right? But yeah, look, I just hope it's a really good game of one-day cricket. India won't want to go home without a win, and like I say, you're leading into the T20s as well, so a lot of the players will go into that format wanting to take some confidence. I'm hoping it's a good game,” the former Australia captain added.
Despite Michael Clarke's prediction, Australia has already secured the series, holding an unassailable 2-0 lead heading into the final match at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Virat Kohli’s SCG Record
Virat Kohli will be desperately hoping to be among the runs in the final ODI, especially after being dismissed for ducks in the previous two consecutive games. However, the Delhi-born batter's personal statistics at the SCG are not particularly convincing. In seven ODIs at the venue, he has scored just 146 runs at a low average of 24.33 and a strike rate of 82.95, with only a single fifty to his name. In contrast, his overall ODI record in Australia is far superior. Across 31 ODIs played in the country, Kohli has amassed 1,327 runs at a strong average of 47.39 and a strike rate of 88.34, which includes six fifties and five hundreds.