Sourav Ganguly, whose prediction of Virat Kohli’s return to form back in August of last year hit the bull’s eye, expects the former India captain to put up a much-improve show in Tests, given the importance of the series that starts February 9 in Nagpur.
When Virat Kohli was down and out in the first half of 2022 and decided to take a small break from cricket, former India captain Sourav Ganguly had made a very interesting remark. Kohli, who after the England series, had skipped the tours of West Indies and Zimbabwe, was set to return in the Asia Cup, and ahead of his much-awaited comeback, Ganguly had said that Kohli will have to score runs for himself and hoped for a good season from the King. Ganguly’s words worked like a charm as Kohli returned to his top form, first ending his century drought with an unbeaten 122 against Afghanistan en route to finishing as the leading run-getter of the Asia Cup, and then emerging as the T20 World Cup’s third-highest run scorer with four half-centuries.
The century drought out of the way, Kohli ended the year by scoring his first ODI hundred in over three years, which as things panned out, was just the beginning. After finishing 2022 on a high note, Kohli started 2023 in style, scoring a double century in three innings. Not against Sri Lanka, but scores of 113 and 166. Kohli’s return to form in the ODI and T20Is a huge boost for India in World Cup year, but the final frontier still remains – Test cricket. After playing only two Tests in the last six months, Virat faces a tough test when India host Australia in the much-anticipated Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Ganguly, whose return predictions for Kohli have been spot on, expects the former India captain to put on a much improved show in the Tests given the importance of the series, which starts in Nagpur on February 9. Ganguly’s Below, India abruptly ended Australia’s 16-game winning streak many years ago, so he knows what’s at stake. “Exactly. He did really well – against Sri Lanka, against Bangladesh. He needs to improve in Test cricket against India. I expect it to be very competitive. Both are very It’s a good team and there’s a good chance these two teams will be in the final of the World Test Championship,” Ganguly told Sports Talk. Cory himself is very motivated. After India lost their first match at Adelaide in the final Test series between India and Australia where they were captains, Kohli went home to witness the birth of his first child and read the team’s script. rice field. Moreover, the last time India played his Test series in Australia (2017), Kohli had a dismal streak of just 46 runs in three matches and an average of 9.20.
WTC table leaders Australia need only avoid a 4-0 gross after back-to-back 2-0 defeats of South Africa to secure a spot in the WTC Finals. Second place India, on the other hand, has one more test he can afford to lose. If they win the series, 4-0, 3-0, or even he’s 3-1, they move forward. With Sri Lanka her 3rd place followed by SA her 4th place, the SL result is sure to have an impact on the finalists as well.