Virat Kohli had a thunderous start to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025 with a stunning century in Perth Test against Australia in India's winning cause. After a lackluster performance in the New Zealand series, where Virat Kohli managed only 93 runs in three Tests, Kohli faced immense pressure to deliver. Despite a disappointing first-innings dismissal, he bounced back strongly on a more Perth conducive pitch, scoring his 30th Test century and helping India set a daunting 534-run target for Australia.
Kohli's exceptional record in Australia only got extended with his unbeaten hundred in Perth Test. His seventh Test century in the country further proved why is considered as force to reckon with in Australian conditions. As a key player for India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, his strong start has sent a clear message to the Australian team: Kohli is ready to dominate and could prove to be a major obstacle in their quest for victory.
Allan Border slams Pat Cummins for allowing Virat Kohli to score a century
Former Australian captain Allan Border expressed concern over Pat Cummins' bowling strategy, which allowed Virat Kohli to score a century relatively easily. Border fears that a motivated Kohli, who has a strong record in Australia, could pose a significant threat to Australia's chances in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
"I was really disappointed in the way we let Kohli roll on to a hundred without much resistance. We don't want this guy full of confidence for the rest of the series," Border said told SEN Radio.
India have established a dominant record against Australia, winning four consecutive Test series, including two away victories. However, their recent 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand raised concerns about their form. Many pundits predicted an easy Australian victory, with some even suggesting a 5-0 whitewash. But India's strong performance in the first Test has shattered these expectations, demonstrating that they will not be pushovers in the series. In fact, India now holds a crucial advantage heading into the second Test in Adelaide. Notably, Australia has not managed to win a Test series after losing the first Test since 1997.
Meanwhile, Australia's legendary batter Matthew Hayden also questioned Cummins strategic blunder and highlighted the a few tricks Australia missed while dealing with Kohli
“They missed a few tricks with Virat Kohli in the early part of his innings. You can’t cut a sucker an even break when a bloke is under pressure as he was. The field placements made it too easy for him to get off strike early,” Hayden told Channel 7.
Not just this, Hayden also called out their delayed short-ball strategy against Yashasvi Jaiswal, who went on to score a blistering 161 in India's winning cause.
“Jaiswal looked vulnerable against it. Maybe tiny things with Pat Cummins — the ability to think through these decisions — they were shell-shocked from the average batting performance in the first innings,” Hayden concluded.
