Two days after being knocked from the IPL, Virat Kohli has flown to England for one of the biggest, most important Test matches of his career: World Test Championship Final (WTC) 2023 against Australia, at the Oval.
Kohli was the captain when India lost the WTC 2021 final against New Zealand in Southampton. The WTC Final 2023 brings another opportunity for Virat Kohli and Team India to end their decade-long ICC title drought and get their hands on a major ICC silverware.
It will be a tough battle though, against an Australian team in English conditions, especially with most of the Indian players coming on the back of a two-month-long grueling IPL 2023 season.
Virat Kohli will as always be pumped and ready for this major challenge. More so because it is the Australian he will be up against. He has a terrific record against Australia: 24 Tests, average of 48 with 8 centuries and 5 fifties. The latest of his Test hundred came against Australia in Ahmedabad in March.
Virat Kohli will have to be wary of these 3 Australian bowlers:
Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins is the number 3 ranked ICC Test bowler and had ruled the number 1 ranking for a long period of time. He’s known for his incredible Glenn McGrath-esque accuracy in line and length – hitting the channel of good and back of a length on top and just outside off-stump. Not much of a swing bowler, Cummins can seam the ball sharply both ways and has attained greatness with by beating batters both on inside and outside edge.
The Australian Test captain would want to topple India’s kingpin when they come face to face in the WTC Final. Cummins has dismissed Virat Kohli 5 times in 8 Tests across both Indian and Australian conditions, all 5 dismissals are caught. This shows that Cummins has smartly and accurately targeted the outside edge of Virat Kohli, in the channel outside the off-stump where Kohli is vulnerable.
Not to forget, Cummins’ record in England: 29 wickets in 5 Tests
Nathan Lyon
No Australian bowler ever has dismissed Virat Kohli more times in Test cricket than the 7 times Nathan Lyon has dismissed the former India skipper.
Ranked 8th in the ICC Test bowler’s ranking, Nathan Lyon has been a nemesis to India: Lyon has taken 116 wickets against India, the most he’s taken against any opposition.
If there’s moisture under the surface at The Oval, Lyon could extract some turn and outfox Virat Kohli.
Mitchell Starc
Talking about Virat Kohli’s weaknesses, Kohli and the Indian top-order’s struggles against left-arm pacers are well-known. Mitchell Starc could wreak havoc at the Oval if conditions are helpful – in conditions that offer even slight swing and seam movement, Starc is one of the deadliest pacers in the world.
With the Dukes ball offering prolonged swing movement, Starc would remain in play when Virat Kohli arrives at number 4. Starc is coming fresh off a long break – neither Starc nor Cummins was part of the IPL – and this would allow Starc to be at its best against India’s lynchpin.
