Virat Kohli warns Indian batsmen to stay focussed ahead of the ICC WTC final clash vs Australia
Karan Rawat
Virat Kohli scored his long-awaited test century against Australia in the final game of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023.
Team India dominated Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year at home and thrashed them by a margin of 3-1, which helped Rohit Sharma and his team qualify for the finals of the World Test Championship 2023. The marquee clash is set to take place at Oval between June 7 and 11. All eyes will be on Virat Kohli and how he performs after making a stellar comeback to form in the last 6–7 months.
India ended up on the losing side in the last WTC final clash when they faced Kane Williamson-led New Zealand in 2021 at Southampton. It was a rain-hit clash, but the Black Caps outclassed Virat Kohli and co. to become the inaugural WTC champions. But it won’t be easy for the Indians this time as well because the Australian pace attack is stronger as compared to India. It will surely pose a big challenge for the Indian batters on a green Oval top.
WTC Final 2023: “The Oval will be challenging, batters need to be cautious”- Virat Kohli ahead of the WTC Final 2023
Virat Kohli was the highest scorer for India in the four-match BGT series at home. He scored 297 runs in four games at an average of 49.50, where batters struggled to score runs throughout the series. He will be a key player for Team India in the middle order, because he has always performed well whenever he plays against Australia. Meanwhile, the former Indian skipper also shared his thoughts on the Oval pitch for the final and warned the Indian batters to stay focused against the Australian bowling attack.
In an interview on Follow the Blues with Star Sports, Virat boldly claimed that it will not be a flat pitch and will be challenging for both teams. He said, “I think The Oval will be challenging, we won’t get a flat wicket and batters need to be cautious. We will need to concentrate on our focus and discipline. We have to adjust and adapt, we have only one match in a neutral venue so whoever adapts better will win the match. This is the beauty of the World Test Championship, two neutral teams with no home advantage, so it will be very exciting to see how both teams adapt to the situation.”
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India won the last game they played at the Oval against England in 2021 under Virat. It was Rohit Sharma who smashed 127 runs in the second innings, which helped India win by 157 runs. They just need to repeat that performance, which can help India end the ICC trophy drought.
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