India vs Australia 2017: Mitchell Starc feels that Virat Kohli will bounce back "bigger and stronger"

Mitchell Starc sent back Virat Kohli for a duck in the first innings of the first Test at Pune

What’s the story?

Australia’s Mitchell Starc won’t rule out Virat Kohli and company’s comeback in the second Test which will begin on March 4 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Although captain Kohli was dismissed on a duck in the first innings, and 13 runs in the second, the Australian pace spearhead feels he will come back ‘bigger and stronger.’

“We know (Kohli) is going to be another key wicket for the rest of the series. There are six more times we've got to get him out to really cement this series," Starc told reporters. “He's a class player, we all know that. He's scored a mountain of runs already this year. We're going to have to be wary of that Virat comeback."

"We know he'll come back bigger and stronger, but he's one I'll take over Pujara at the moment," Starc said when asked to rate the importance of his twin strikes in Pune.

In case you didn’t know...

Virat Kohli failed to continue his phenomenal batting form in the first Test against Australia in Pune, scoring a total of 13 runs in the two innings, as the Aussies cruised to a 333-run win to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series. The win was their first on Indian soil for the first time since 2004. India suffered spectacular batting collapses in both their innings, with Mitchell Starc's dismissals of Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli early in India's innings acting as the catalyst for India's downfall.

The heart of the matter

Although Kohli failed to replicate his phenomenal on-field performance after scoring double tons in 4 consecutive Tests series, he is the kind of batsman who doesn’t like to give up after one game. And the Australians are well aware of that. Mitchell Starc feels that the 28-year-old will bounce back from his poor performance in the first Test.

What’s next?

The second of the four Tests will be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru starting from Saturday.

As per Indian Express, the Bengaluru pitch will not be very different from what it usually is – a slow turner that would generally start giving ‘itchy fingers’ to spinners after a couple of days.

Sportkeeda’s take

Contrary to most people’s assumptions that India will drub Australia 4-0, it was surprising to watch the world’s No. 1 Test team put up such an embarrassing show in the first Test. But with the Bangalore pitch being a slow turner and favouring the Indian spinners, the second Test may make for an exciting contest.