Last Updated:
Despite his century (100) in the second innings of the first Test, Kohli was only able to score 190 runs in the five-match Test series against Australia.
Sourav Ganguly surprised by Virat Kohli’s performance in Border-Gavaskar Trophy. (Picture Credit: AFP)
Virat Kohli played in all five matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for India against Australia but could only manage to score 190 runs. Of those 190, he scored 100 runs alone in the second innings of the first Test played at Optus Stadium in Perth. Kohli’s poor show with the bat in the Test series against the world No. 1 Test team came as a surprise for former Indian men’s cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly. According to Ganguly, he expected Kohli to have a big series in Australia after his century in the series opener, but he failed to live up to the expectations.
“I think Virat Kohli is a once-in-a-lifetime player for men’s cricket. To score 80 international 100s in a career is something unbelievable. For me, he is probably the greatest white ball player the world has seen. But I was really surprised by the way he batted after getting a 100 in Perth. He struggled before that year, but I thought after the 100 in Perth, it will be a big series for him. But I think it happens. Every player has his weakness and strength. There is no player in the world who will not have that. It’s how you adapt to your weaknesses as you play great bowlers over a period of time,” Ganguly said during an event organized by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) on Monday.
Kohli’s flop show in Australia raised a lot of question marks over his future in international cricket, but Ganguly is not too worried about Kohli’s lean patch and is confident about him scoring big runs in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
“I still feel there is a lot of cricket left in Virat Kohli. A tour of England will be a big challenge for him. I am not too worried about his form in the Champions Trophy,” said Ganguly.
India will play all its matches of the Champions Trophy in Dubai.
“As I said, he is probably the best white ball player the world has seen for a long period of time. He will score runs in the tournament in those conditions. I think India is one of the contenders for the Champions Trophy,” he added.
