Australia tour will decide Virat’s future! (PC-PTI)
Last Wednesday it was raining in Perth. Virat Kohli practiced even in the rain. He stopped batting when the raindrops became big and heavy. Well, this is just an incident. Virat Kohli has also been doing similar things before. But this time there are many reasons why he is talked about more. Firstly, Virat Kohli has a special relationship with Australia. He has performed brilliantly in Australia. He has scored more runs in Australia than his average in his Test career. He also has 6 Test centuries to his credit in Australia. But his recent form is getting worse. He scored a total of 93 runs in 6 innings of three matches of the home Test series against New Zealand. In this he also scored 70 runs in a single innings. He didn’t even reach double figures in four innings.
His role has increased in the absence of captain Rohit Sharma. Rohit Sharma is not available for the Perth test match. He will join the team for the next test match. You remember the 2023 World Cup… You remember the 2024 T20 World Cup, the pairing of Rohit and Virat has played an important role. Once again, the brilliance of this pair in this difficult tour will become the strength of the Indian team. Another aspect is that Virat Kohli has turned 36 this month. That means it can be assumed that this is the last Border Gavaskar Trophy of his career. For all these aspects, the eyes of cricket fans are fixed on Virat Kohli.
Virat Kohli has a special relationship with Perth
It happened about 13 years ago. Virat Kohli’s Test career had just begun. He was “fighting” in the West Indies. Fidel Edwards had worried him. Fidel Edwards had dismissed Virat Kohli in three out of four innings of the first two Test matches. Virat found it difficult to try to drive while standing at home. After the West Indies, the Indian team toured Australia. Virat Kohli’s bat didn’t work in the first two Test matches played in Melbourne and Sydney. This means that a total of 6 Test matches had already been played and Virat Kohli only had half a century left to count.
The important thing was that Yuvraj Singh was out of the team. Suresh Raina had scored a century on his Test debut. After this he also scored two consecutive half-centuries. Rohit Sharma was also in the race. That means there was constant pressure on Dhoni to start thinking ahead of Virat Kohli. But Dhoni kept Virat in the playing eleven even in the third Test match. This third test match was played only in Perth. Virat Kohli scored 44 runs in the first innings and 75 runs in the second innings. He was India’s leading run-scorer in both innings. After this, in the next 10 Test matches, Virat Kohli scored 4 centuries and 3 half-centuries. But if you ask those who follow Virat’s career, they always mention the opportunity they had in the Perth Test because that Test match was like the turning point in Virat’s career. Once again Virat Kohli is in Perth. Virat Kohli also scored a brilliant century in Perth in 2018.
These 10 entries will decide the picture in the record book.
This is the first time since 1991-92 that a five-Test series has been played between India and Australia. That means, after more than three decades, a series in which players will have 10 entries. Cricket fans often raise some questions about Virat Kohli, for example: Will Virat Kohli break Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 100 international centuries? Will Virat Kohli be able to complete 10,000 runs in Test cricket?
Exact answers to these questions will not be found, but these 10 entries will definitely indicate it. If Virat Kohli scores 2 centuries in this series, his number of centuries will increase to 82 and the hope of reaching 100 centuries remains. Also, his total number of Tests will cross 9200. For a batsman like Virat Kohli, 2 centuries in 10 innings is not a big deal.
Virat’s magic was visible from Perth
We had mentioned the Perth Test of 2012. After that, Virat Kohli scored 2 centuries and 2 half-centuries in 10 innings. Furthermore, Virat Kohli has played a total of 13 Test matches in Australia. He has 6 centuries to his credit in 13 Test matches. But if Virat Kohli’s bat falters, if his form against New Zealand continues for long, then the answer to these questions will be ‘no’. Because you also have to look at Virat’s age. Virat Kohli turned 36 this month. He has scored 80 centuries in 16 years from 2008 to 2024.
That is, if we do simple maths, he has scored 5 centuries every year. This also includes the time when cricket was suspended due to Corona. Now, even if Virat Kohli continues at this pace, he will need 4 more years to score 20 more centuries. Will Virat Kohli play until he is 40? This seems difficult. It is important to discuss another possibility. If the Indian team wins the Border Gavaskar series, they could also get a chance to play in the final of the World Test Championship. These opportunities can bring Virat Kohli closer to achieving the mega record.
