WTC Final: Former Australian captain Ian Chappell believes that England pacers Stuart Broad and James Anderson asked Indian batting star Virat Kohli a lot of questions during the 2014 and 2021 tours in England, but that may not be the case this time around against Australia as Kohli has been playing exceptionally well recently. The ace batter established himself as one of the all-time greats by scoring runs all across the world.
Ian Chappell said during Backstage with Boria Majumdar that Virat Kohli was not at his usual level during his previous England tours because he found it difficult to get going against the English pacers, who effectively used their home conditions to trouble the Indian batting master in previous series. He believes that Australia’s bowlers might not be able to do the same thing because they will also need to adapt to the conditions in England.
“Virat Kohli was asked a lot of questions in England in 2014 and 2021 by Anderson, Broad, and the rest of the English bowlers. They bowled some excellent lines and lengths to him in conditions that suited them. They knew he is the best and lifted themselves when bowling to him. To think or say that the Australians will not be able to do the same from ball one. The English know their conditions better than anyone else in the world,” Ian Chappell said.
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Ian Chappell stated that Virat Kohli loves to bat against the Australian bowling attack because of his exceptional stats against Australia in both home and away conditions. Chappell also believes that Virat Kohli’s batting style will work well at the Oval because England’s weather has been dry so far, and that Kohli is a player who can make the difference for his team in the WTC final.
“Virat loves to bat against the Australians. We have seen that in Australia. His record is evidence of how good he is. He loves a contest and is never one to back off from one. The Oval from all of my experience is going to bounce and it will suit Virat. You have said to me that the weather has stayed dry so far. If the weather continues to stay dry the Oval is as close to an Australian wicket in England as you will ever get”.
“And that will suit Virat. I think if he is mentally switched on like I have said to you earlier in the conversation, he will get runs for India. He is a very good player and someone who can make a telling difference,” Ian Chappell added.
In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023, the former Indian captain scored a century in a Test match after nearly three years. In the IPL 2023, he scored back-to-back centuries to finish his season with an impressive score of 639 runs from 14 matches, and he will look to put his hand to his hand for the crucial final against Australia to end India’s title drought in the ICC events.
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