‘Thorn in the flesh for the Aussies,’ Ravi Shastri warns Australia ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
According to Ravi Shastri, Virat Kohli will be a thorn in Australia’s bowling attack. Team India will face Australia in the first Test
Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has backed batting legend Virat Kohli to be a thorn in Australia’s bowling attack ahead of the high-profile Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Kohli will hope to rediscover his form after embracing a long lean patch in the longest format of the game in the second edition of the ICC World Test Championship.
Former Indian head coach Shastri believes that batting legend Kohli will be eager to make amends against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a quiet Test series against Bangladesh. Speaking of the talismanic batter of the Rohit Sharma-led side, the former Indian all-rounder has issued a strong warning to the Baggy Greens’ world-class bowling attack.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri said during an interaction organized by Star Sports, the official broadcasters of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, that Kohli’s impressive record will encourage him in the four-match Test series. “His (Kohli’s) record against Australia would motivate him. He’d be fired up and eager to get things going.
Take a look at his first two innings. If he gets off to a good start, he will be a thorn in the flesh for Australians. They would certainly not want that to happen. Kohli’s average against Australia is just under 50. “Amazing record, that should get him going,” Shastri said.
Since September 2022, the 34-year-old has had four centuries in international cricket. Kohli, on the other hand, has not scored a Test century since 2019. Kohli has appeared in 104 Test matches for India. In his legendary Test career, the former Indian captain scored 8,119 runs. In red-ball cricket, he has scored 27 centuries and 28 half-centuries for Team India.
Kohli, regarded as one of the greatest batters of the modern era, will look to improve his performance against spin in the upcoming Test series against Australia. In India’s previous home assignment, Kohli was outwitted by Mitchell Santner of New Zealand. Spinners also dismissed the 34-year-old in two of his three innings against Bangladesh.
Interestingly, veteran spinner Nathan Lyon has dismissed Kohli the most times in Test cricket (seven). Kohli, on the other hand, has an impressive average of 50.42 against the Australian spinner. When Australia visited India in 2017, Kohli had a disastrous tour, scoring only 46 runs in three Test matches.
Former Indian captain Kohli has 1682 Test runs against Australia at an average of 48.06. On Thursday, Team India will face Australia, led by Pat Cummins, in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.
