"No one comes close to him" - Australian cricketers hail Virat Kohli while discussing WTC 2023 final triumph in documentary
Members of the Australian Test team hailed Virat Kohli while discussing their World Test Championship 2023 final triumph against India during the third season of the popular cricket documentary, 'The Test'. The Aussies beat India by 209 runs in the WTC final played at the Kennington Oval in London played in June last year.
After setting India a target of 444, Australia reduced the opposition to 164-3 by stumps on Day 4. The Aussies had the upper hand going into the final day of the WTC final. They however, admitted that they were wary of Kohli, who was unbeaten on 44 at stumps.
Speaking on the documentary being aired on Amazon Prime Video, many Australian players admitted that they were well aware of the Kohli threat heading into Day 5 of the WTC 2023 final. Here are some comments from the Aussie camp on Kohli, while discussing the World Test Championship final clash.
Pat Cummins: Virat Kohli is the one guy who can chase it down in the fourth innings
Steve Smith: If you look at people chasing the total, Virat Kohli is up there with the best, if not the best.
Nathan Lyon: He is super competitive and doesn't give you an inch. No one comes close to him.
Scott Boland: Going into that last day, we still thought that if they got on a roll, Kohli could still pull off that chase.
Justin Langer (Former Australia coach): He's been a killer against Australia.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri also makes an appearance in the video and is heard saying:
"When he comes out to bat, Virat makes people around the globe, even the opposition stands up and look. They might not like it but they'll watch."
Speaking of Day 5 of the WTC 2023 final, there was a huge respite for Australia as Kohli was dismissed for 49 off 78. The right-handed batter drove at a full and wide delivery from Scott Boland and got a nick, which was taken by Steve Smith at second slip, diving to his right.
India didn't offer much of a resistance on the final day of the World Test Championship final after the star batter's exit. They were all out for 234 as Australia lifted the WTC maze.
Virat Kohli's record against Australia
Kohli has a wonderful record against Australia in international cricket. The 35-year-old has played 25 Tests against the Aussies, notching up 2,042 runs at an average of 47.48, with eight hundreds. Incredibly, six of his tons have come away from home.
In ODIs, the right-handed batter has smashed 2,367 runs in 49 matches at an average of 53.79, with eight centuries. The former India captain has also featured in 22 T20Is against the Aussies, scoring 794 runs at an average of 52.93 and a strike rate of 143.84, with a best of 90*.