Legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar praised Virat Kohli’s prior consistent performances on Adelaide and Perth grounds. His previous success against Australia in these venues will give him added confidence in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. Kohli’s average in six Test matches this year is 22.72, far lower than his average of 54.08 in Australian Tests and his total career average of 47.83. He enters his seventh Australia tour after scoring only 91 runs in India’s 3-0 series loss to New Zealand at home earlier this month.
Kohli had hit 116, his first Test hundred, at Adelaide in January 2012, followed by 115 and 141 at the same venue in 2014. The former captain also scored 123 runs, the first Test century by an Indian batsman at the new Perth Stadium in 2018, and guided India to a 2-1 series victory, their first in Australia.
Even in that Adelaide Test match, where we were all out for 36 in the second innings, Kohli scored 70 or more runs in the first innings before getting run out. He has routinely performed well in Adelaide, so it is a comfortable environment for him.
“And before Adelaide, it was Perth, where he scored one of the best Test hundreds of 2018-19—a great hundred. After performing on these grounds, he’ll feel more confident. Of course, you need some luck at first, but if he gets off to a robust start, he can do huge,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.”
Sanjay Manjrekar, the former India batsman, also shared his thoughts on how Australian bowlers such as captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon will challenge Kohli, particularly outside the off-stump channel, when the series gets started in Perth on November 22.
I believe Virat is fully aware of the plans. They’ll start with that line outside the off-stump to see what his thinking is. These days, he frequently leaves balls outside and attempts to drive anything pitched up. Australia may also try to squeeze him for space and assault his body because he likes to move forward.
“New Zealand adopted this technique effectively. If he focuses on balls outside off stump, bowlers like Josh Hazlewood may attack Vernon Philander’s normal line on middle stump. “Australia will test various strategies, and Virat Kohli is well aware of this,” he remarked.