ICC World Test Championship Final: "I Do Believe He Is Close To What He Was Three Years Ago" - Ravi Shastri Lauds Virat Kohli

ICC World Test Championship Final: “I Do Believe He Is Close To What He Was Three Years Ago” – Ravi Shastri Lauds Virat Kohli

by Sai VaitlaJune 11, 2023

Last Update on: June 11th, 2023 at 03:19 pm

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri lauded Virat Kohli’s batting on Day 4 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Oval in London on Saturday, June 10. Ravi Shastri said that Virat Kohli has regained his mojo and is at his best in the longer format of the game.

Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 44 runs off 60 balls in India’s second innings on the penultimate day. The 34-year-old looked solid with the ball since the start of his innings. The right-handed batter dominated Australian bowlers and played fantastic shots in his innings.

The Feet Are Moving In The Right Direction – Ravi Shastri

Speaking to Star Sports after Day 4, Ravi Shastri said that Virat Kohli is getting close to his best and added that he will reach purple patch soon.

“He looked very fluent today. I do believe he is close to what he was three years ago. He went through a patch where things weren’t going his way. But this is more the Kohli that I know,” Ravi Shastri told Star Sports.

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“There’s fluency, balance. The feet are moving in the right direction. Whether it happens tomorrow or doesn’t happen tomorrow, but there is going to be a time very soon where there’s going to be a purple patch,” he added.

He Has Started Leaving Deliveries – Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri lauded Virat Kohli’s approach and said that the former Indian skipper left deliveries well to eliminate high-risk shots while chasing a mammoth total.

“What I like is that there was a period in his play where every short ball, he wanted to get after. As if to send a message to the opposition, I’m coming after you,” Shastri further added.

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“Now, when he has started leaving deliveries, getting out of the way, he has realized that eliminating high-risk shots are very important if you want to play the big innings,” he concluded.

The Rohit Sharma-led team need 280 runs on the fifth and final day of the match to win their first WTC title. Kohli and Ajinkya are at the crease with seven wickets in hand. The first hour’s play will be crucial for the Indian cricket team to set the tone for the run chase.

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