Virat Kohli hasn’t scored a hundred in Test cricket for well over 3 years. During the last 3 years, he averages less than 30. An average that was once thought would challenge Steve Smith, has fallen. Now, it hovers around 50. A full 20 points difference. It shows how Kohli’s stocks have fallen. Yet, for the opposition, it is Kohli’s wicket that will be of paramount importance. They know that if he hits form, it will be difficult to stop him. Now that the Australians are about to arrive in the country, will Kohli be able to replicate him form?
Suddenly, over the last several months, Kohli has been in rich vein of form in limited overs cricket. He scored his first ever hundred in T20 in the Asia Cup and followed that with 3 more hundreds in ODI series. However, the inbetween part is what troubles every Indian supporter. Against Bangladesh, Kohli wasn’t able to score even a fifty. His batting was like fish out of water. Especially in the 2nd test. One could not believe their eyes when they saw Kohli struggle. He was hardly able to get the ball away. It was really tough to watch.
The arrival of the Aussies
The Australians will be here in a few weeks. They are tremendously confident of their abilities. Under Cummins, following the sandpapergate and Langer episode, they have recovered quite well. They have brushed aside their opponents in Australia, except for India and they won in Pakistan followed by a drawn series in Sri Lanka. Their batsmen are in excellent form with all of them scoring runs throughout 2022 and bowlers have been equally good. It will not be wrong to state that this time around, the Australians are firm favourites.
Comparatively, the Indian batsmen are not amongst the runs for a very longtime. Rohit Sharma hasn’t played red ball cricket in almost a year and to jump in against a tough opponent, it is a huge risk that the selectors have taken. He must have been asked to play for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy rather than in the limited overs series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. The same for Kohli, Rahul, Jadeja and Pujara too. All of them needs runs and bucketloads of them behind them to be able to cope the relentless Aussie assault.
The absence of Pant is a huge blow for any side. With the top and middle order struggling, it was always Pant who saved their blushes. Now that he is ruled out of the series, to whom will India turn for pull the team out of any trouble? This is where it is extremely important for Kohli to translate his limited overs form into red ball.
The old Kohli must return
The series needs Kohli at his absolute best. There is absolutely no hope on either Rohit or Rahul. Especially Rahul who is a misfit in Test cricket. Pujara can play time but will not be able to force the pace. He has not that in the past and now it is not possible to expect that from him. When he sees a good bowler, he immediately goes into his shell and refuses to come out. Shreyas Iyer is the only batsman who can play spin pretty well but will he be able to withstand the barrage of shortballs from Cummins and co?
Considering all of the above, everything falls on Kohli to not only withstand the pressure but to score runs and score them quickly. Indian bowlers needs huge scores to defend and Kohli is the only one who can score those runs. If not, India is staring at a series in which they may not prevail.
The experience of Bangladesh does not warrant Kohli’s rediscovering his form in Test cricket. If the pitches turn, I expect the prodding Kohli who will not inspire much confidence. If Kohli chooses this series to turn his form around in Tests, that will be sweet. India needs his runs now more than ever. We have a proud record to keep up. It has been 15 years since Australia last won a series in India and we have won last several series against Australia including the last couple in their country.