"He becomes a different beast when he plays against Australia" - Aakash Chopra expects Virat Kohli to score at least 2 centuries
Aakash Chopra has highlighted that Virat Kohli generally elevates his game when he plays against Australia. The former Indian opener expects at least a couple of centuries from the modern batting great's willow in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Rohit Sharma and Co. will play a four-match Test series against Pat Cummins' side, with the first game to be played in Nagpur from Thursday, February 9. The onus will be on Kohli to deliver the goods, especially with Rishabh Pant being unavailable and Shreyas Iyer likely to miss at least the first Test.
On the Aakashvani show on JioCinema, Chopra was asked about his expectations from Virat Kohli in the Test series against Australia, to which he responded:
"This is the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and if we have to do well in this, it is almost imperative for Virat Kohli to score runs. There is one thing about Virat - he becomes a different beast when he plays against Australia."
The reputed commentator pointed out that the Indian batting mainstay usually reserves his best for the Aussies, saying:
"He activates the beast mode slightly. His best performances have generally come against this team. So you will have the expectations once again."
Virat Kohli has 7 Test hundreds against Australia - most against a single opponent in his career.
Kohli has amassed 1682 runs at an impressive average of 48.05 in the 20 Tests he has played against Australia. However, he does not enjoy a great record against them at home, having aggregated 330 runs at an underwhelming average of 33.00 in seven matches.
Aakash Chopra on the one thing Virat Kohli needs to be mindful of
However, Aakash Chopra highlighted that Virat Kohli has misread the length against the left-arm spinners a few times lately, elaborating:
"The only thing, which I felt in the last series as well, was where he played a full delivery from Taijul Islam on the back foot and it went and hit the stumps, and Mitchell Santner also dismissed him similarly in the ODIs. That's one thing where he has gotten out early a few times."
Virat Kohli got stunned by Taijul Islam 🤯
#CricketTwitter #banvsind https://t.co/K3gmFlpp92
Chopra concluded by expecting big runs from the former Indian skipper if he can overcome that slight glitch in his batting, stating:
"So he will have to keep that slightly in his mind, playing the full delivery on the back foot against a bowler who takes the ball slightly away from him. Besides that, it is a four-Test series, so I am expecting at least two centuries. That's not an unfair ask. He is Virat Kohli, run-machine Kohli. Hopefully he will score runs."
Kohli has not scored a century in the longest format since the pink-ball Test against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens in November 2019. He has averaged less than 30 in each of the last three years and will hope to be at his former best in the crunch series for the hosts.