‘The Australian team will be talking about Virat Kohli’ – Former Australian captain’s bold statement ahead of WTC final

Former Australian skipper, Ricky Ponting thinks that for India to defeat Australia in the World Test Championship final, the dynamic combo of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara would have to play significant roles. The crucial match is slated to begin on June 7 at the Oval. Pujara has been on fire, while representing Sussex, in England’s County Championship Division Two when rest of the world was busy in the Indian Premier League. The right-handed batsman has three hundred and 545 runs, at an average of 68.12, in six games.

While all is going on, Virat Kohli is coming off a fantastic Indian Premier League (IPL) season in which he scored 639 runs at an impressive average of 53.25, including back-to-back hundreds. The Border Gavaskar Trophy final Test in Ahmedabad in March saw the former Indian captain score a magnificent 186 against Australia.

He told me that the feeling he’s getting right now is that he’s almost back to his best: Ricky Ponting

“The Australian team will be talking about Virat, no doubt about it, and they’ll be talking about Pujara. They’re the two. Pujara has been a thorn in their side a lot in the past, and in Australia, and this wicket will potentially be a lot more like an Australian pitch. They know that they’ll have to get him early,” Ponting was quoted as saying in the Apex Cricket Council Review show.

“They also know that Virat over the last few weeks is probably just about back to his absolute best, albeit in T20 cricket. He told me that the feeling he’s getting right now is that he’s almost back to his best, and that’s an ominous warning for the Australians going into a one-off game,” the former Australian skipper asserted.

With 2033 runs scored at an average of 50.82 and five hundreds in 24 Tests, Cheteshwar Pujara has a stellar record against Australia. With 521 runs at an average of 74.43, the 35-year-old was named Player of the Series in India’s first-ever series victory in Australia in 2018–19. While playing against the Australians, Virat Kohli scored 1979 runs at an average of 48.93 with eight hundreds in 24 games.