New Delhi [India]: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly backed stalwart Virat Kohli to deliver in Australia in the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy amid his lean phase with the bat.
Expectations have been building around Virat as his dry spell continues to be the talk of the town during the build-up of the BGT.
The worrying signs have been silently hiding in the shadows since 2020. The ‘Chase Master’ has faced an elongated lean patch in the longest format of cricket.
In the past four years, Virat has garnered 1,838 runs from 34 Tests at an average of 31.68, comprising just two centuries and nine fifties.
Former Australia stars have banked on Virat’s form to be the decisive moment of the series, which is being tipped in Australia’s favour.
Considering Australia’s conditions coming to Virat’s rescue in the past, Ganguly expects the flamboyant batter to deliver for India in one of the challenging Test series.
“Absolutely, he is a champion batter. He has had success in Australia in the past. He scored four centuries in 2014 and scored a hundred in 2018 as well. He will want to make this series count, and he will also know this could be the last time he is touring Australia to play Test cricket,” Ganguly said while speaking to Boria Majumdar on Revsportz.
Virat’s love story with Australian conditions has come to silence Virat’s critics twice, in 2012 and 2014. After a concerning West Indies tour in 2011, where he averaged a mere 15.20 after scoring a paltry 76 runs in five innings, his future looked bleak.
He looked all set to be dropped from Tests after his first two Tests in Australia went downhill. But he stored his best in the next two Tests, scoring 44 and 75 in Perth.
Virat finally delivered in Adelaide with his maiden Test century, a classic 116 in 213 balls laced with his trademark strokes and swagger, which revived his career.
2014 was a similar story, with Virat finding his groove in a series that was nothing short of a fairytale after a string of bleak performances. With questions being raised over his future yet again, the series is massive in terms of making or breaking his career.
With his past form not raising much inspiration, Ganguly feels Virat will enjoy conditions in Australia and expects him to deliver against competitive opposition.
“So, in every sense, this is a massive series for Kohli. I don’t want to read too much into the New Zealand series. The pitches did not allow good batting. In Australia, he will enjoy the conditions. There will be good pitches. I am backing Virat to deliver in Australia in this series,” he added.
Ahead of the series opener in Perth on Friday, Virat has ramped up his preparations with the entire team. There were concerns about his fitness after Australian Media reported that Kohli went for scans.
But during last Friday’s intra-squad match simulation, Virat didn’t appear to be in discomfort. He executed his trademark cover drive. However, on 15, he edged a Mukesh Kumar delivery to the second slip. He later spent about 30 minutes in the nets.
During his second outing, Virat faced a barrage of short deliveries from Prasidh Krishna and Nitish Reddy. He seemed troubled by a few balls but showed no signs of discomfort, batting for an hour to finish on 30.