Former India captain and maverick batter, Virat Kohli continues his hunt for a breakout innings in Test cricket. The right-handed batter last scored a century in red-ball cricket in 2019 against Bangladesh and his Test average has plummeted to below 49. In the on-going Border-Gavaskar series against Australia, the stylish batter has struggled to convert his starts into a substantial innings. In fairness to Kohli, batting has proven to be extremely challenging on pitches that have offered great assistance to slow bowlers.
In five innings against Australia, Kohli has aggregated just 111 runs at a poor average of 22.20. His vulnerability against finger spinners has been exposed as Matthew Kuhnemann, Todd Murphy and Nathan Lyon have kept the Indian maverick batter in check.
Kohli, meanwhile came out from his slump in white-ball cricket after cracking his maiden ton in T20Is against Afghanistan in the 2022 Asia Cup. Since then, the right-handed batter has scored three centuries in ODIs and reminded everyone of his mercurial talent of scoring runs.
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar, who is a big fan of Kohli, explained the reason behind his unfiltered admiration of the former Indian skipper.
"See, I believe Sachin Tendulkar is the best batter in the world. But as a captain, he seemed lost. He left the captaincy himself. I was talking to one of my friends about Virat Kohli and we were discussing the same thing. He was lost and when he works on his mind, he will perform. When his mind became free, he lit up the T20 World Cup. It seemed that god had organised the tournament just for him to make a comeback," Akhtar told Suno News.
"People tell me that you praise Virat Kohli a lot. I just say, why shouldn't i do that?) During one stage, India used to win because of Virat's hundreds," he added.
The stylish batter has scored just 990 runs in 21 Tests since 2020. He averages 27.50 while his highest score is 79. India would hope for Kohli find his best form in the last Test match against Australia in Ahmedabad, starting March 09.
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