Just Put Australia There, and He Will Wake Up Differently - Says Ravi Shastri

The ICC World Test Championship 2021-2023 is set to take place from 7th June as India and Australia will lock horns for the Test Championship crown. While talking to the ICC prior to the WTC 2021-2023 Final, Ravi Shastri said, “Just put Australia there, and he (Virat Kohli) will wake up differently, and he smells the coffee much earlier when it’s Australia.” Virat Kohli is a different beast altogether when he plays against Australia. Watching him bat against Australia is proper box office stuff, but this time, he will be up against the challenge of Cummins, Starc, Boland, Lyon, and Todd Murphy in English conditions.

Virat Kohli’s Record Against Australia

Be it Tests, One Day Internationals (ODIs), or T20s, Virat loves the challenge of Australia. Virat’s aggressive nature and Australia’s competitive style of play make this battle exciting and worth watching. Virat Kohli has 16 international centuries against Australia in 92 matches.

*Format*	Matches	Innings	Runs	*50s*	*100s*
Test	24	42	1979	5	8
ODI	46	44	2172	11	8
T20	22	21	794	8	0
Overall	92	107	4945	24	16

Ravi Shastri added, “If he (Virat Kohli) gets to 20, then we will have some fun.” Virat Kohli has struggled against the moving ball in recent times, and Shastri believes if he can survive the Duke-Ball spell of Cummins and Starc upfront, he might be able to convert it into a big score. However, in the WTC Final 2021, Virat scored 44 (132) and 13 (29) in the first and second innings respectively. He could not convert his starts into big scores, but this time he is looking better as he is in better form.

Virat Kohli WTC Final Preparations

Virat Kohli has been hitting the nets hard and is fully prepared for the WTC Final. ICC also posted a few videos from the Indian camp, and the spirits look high, and they don’t seem to have taken a lot of pressure. Ricky Pointing also heaped praise on Virat Kohli on the International Cricket Council (ICC) channel as he shed light on his recent form and mentioned that he spoke to Virat Kohli on the phone a few days ago. Kohli told him that he was feeling really good regarding his batting form. Pointing feels that Kohli getting back to his absolute best is an ominous warning for Australians.