Australian batter Travis Head is hopeful that Virat Kohli doesn’t have many moments to cherish after the conclusion of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. The much-awaited test series between India and Australia kicks off on November 22 in Perth.
Ahead of the series, Kohli has been undergoing a rough patch of form. In 12 test innings this year, the right-hander has garnered only 250 runs at an average of 22.72. His last century in the format came in July 2023 against West Indies.
In the recent series against New Zealand, Kohli managed to score only 93 runs in six innings, and struggled to fare well against spinners. As a result, Kohli’s game against spin came under fire and many advised him to return to domestic cricket ahead of the Australia series.
However, with time constraints, the 36-year-old has been training in Perth ahead of the opening test. With him being the top-scorer in BGT history among Indian touring party, Kohli will be a key player to help India stake a strong claim for the WTC final. In order to qualify for championship game, India needs to win the series 4-0.
Head acknowledged Kohli’s impressive track record in Australia and termed him a “world class” player. However, he feels their bowling unit will be able to contain the impact of the veteran batter throughout the series.
Travis Head was quoted as saying to the press by India Today:
“There’s not a series that you would play India and you not talk about Virat Kohli. No doubt that we’ll go through all the players and we’ve started this morning and just prepare the same way as we always do. We want to start well against him come the first morning, but he’s gonna have his moments in the series and hopefully not too many of them.
“He’s a world class player and over 5 Tests at some stage he’s probably gonna play well, we understand that, we respect that, and, yeah, we just try our best to nullify that. We hope we’ll have some guys on our team that also have really good great moments over 5 Tests.”
Virat Kohli reveals his favorite knock in Australia
In a recent video uploaded by the BCCI on Instagram, the entire Indian team was seen having a photoshoot and engaging in a fun chat with each other.
During the clip, Mohammed Siraj is seen asking Virat Kohli about his favorite knock in Australia. Kohli responded by saying that he enjoyed hitting a hundred in Perth during the 2018-19 tour. Although, he scored a fighting 123 in the first innings, India went on to lose by 146 runs.
“My best knock in Australia will definitely be my 100 at Perth. 2018-19 series that we played. I thought that was the toughest pitch that I played on in Test cricket. It was great to get a hundred on that tour,” Kohli said while answering Mohammed Siraj‘s question.
It will be interesting to see if Virat Kohli can continue his good run of form at Perth Stadium in the first test, starting this Friday.
