Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri was impressed with how Virat Kohli batted on the fourth day of the World Test Championship final against Australia at the Oval on Saturday. Kohli scored an unbeaten knock of 44 runs to take India to 164-3 at stumps and Shastri reckons the talisman looked at his previous best.
After going through a rough patch in the last few seasons, Kohli has been getting to his best in the recent past. The right-hander scored seven fours in his knock, scoring at a strike rate of 73.33.
In fact, Kohli was dismissed after scoring 14 runs in the first innings when he received a peach of a delivery from Mitchell Starc. The ball took off from a length area and Kohli had no answer.
Ergo, the former Indian skipper will be looking to make amends in the second innings of the WTC Final and deliver the goods for the Indian team.
Ravi Shastri said on Star Sports, “He looked very fluent today. I do believe he is close to what he was three years ago. He went through a patch where things weren’t going his way. But this is more the Kohli that I know. There’s fluency, balance. The feet are moving in the right direction. Whether it happens tomorrow or doesn’t happen tomorrow, but there is going to be a time very soon where there’s going to be a purple patch.”
Shastri was also impressed by Virat Kohli’s aggressive approach against the short ball and feels the right-hander wanted to give a strong message to Australia.
“What I like is that there was a period in his play where every short ball, he wanted to get after. As if to send a message to the opposition, I’m coming after you. Now, when he has started leaving deliveries, getting out of the way, he has realized that eliminating high-risk shots are very important if you want to play the big innings.”
There is no doubt Virat Kohli will hold the key for the Indian team if they have to get anywhere close to the gargantuan target of 444 runs. Furthermore, Ajinkya Rahane, who scored a fine knock of 89 runs in the first dig, will also hold the key for India as he is batting unbeaten on 20 runs.
Australia needs another seven wickets in the WTC Final to clinch the title.
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