Virat Kohli and Mitchell Johnson’s rivalry is known to one and all. And now before the start of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 1st Test at Perth, Johnson has gone on to reveal about his rivalry. The former Australian pacer revealed that he shared a personal rivalry with Kohli and enjoyed it.
A Rivalry for the Ages
“I had a well-publicised personal rivalry with Kohli. We had many interactions on the field and I enjoyed it. While I didn’t know him off the field, on the field we probably played the game in a similar way – taking the game on and not backing down,” Mitchell Johnson wrote.
Johnson went on to reveal that he didn’t know Virat Kohli off the field. However, on the field, it was a personal rivalry between the duo. He further revealed that he would become frustrated when Kohli used to charge down at him.
Some don’t like that style of cricket and prefer there’s no chat with the opposition, but I enjoyed that part of the game. I would become frustrated during some of our battles, but I also enjoyed that he kept coming at me. It’s always a nice feeling to get one of the best out, and likewise, I’m sure he enjoyed taking me down and hitting me for a four or a six,” he added.
The memorable fight happened back in the 2014-15 series in the Boxing Day Test where tempers were at an all time-high. Johnson hit Kohli while attempting a run-out. In that series, the duo faced each other in 7 innings with Kohli scoring 140 runs against Johnson while the latter bagging 4 dismissals.