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“This was a country he just loved playing cricket in”: Bharat Sundaresan reflects on Kohli’s possible last test innings in Australia
Jordan Moll • January 5th, 2025 3:02 pm
Bharat Sundaresan has reflected on Virat Kohli's test career in Australia, with the Indian champion likely playing his final test match on Australian soil after his dismissal on day two marked the end of his batting performance during this year's Border-Gavaskar series.
Kohli had been a consistent run scorer in Australian conditions, with seven centuries and a career average of 46.
Kohli first came to Australia in the 2011/2012 test series and has revelled in the challenge since then.
“When Virat Kohli walked out, his bat was over his shoulder, and his chest puffed out, and I could see what Virat was going through in his head”, Bharat Sundaresan said on SEN's The New Ball.
“This was a country where he just loved playing cricket in, loved batting on these pitches.
“The first two summers he had here, 2011, 2012, when he was a very young guy, made 100 in Adelaide in the last test of that series."
Kohli added to that domination with a century in Perth to start this series but has struggled since, scoring only 90 runs since that triple-figure score.
“He dominated in 2014/2015, made a great century in Perth in 2018," Sundaresan said.
“We all thought it was ominous when he made that 100 in the second innings in Perth, but from that point on, it’s mainly been single-digit scores."
Despite his amazing record here in Australia, the former Indian captain would have loved to have made one last big score in what could possibly be his last test innings here in Australia.
“That’s not how he would of imagined his exit as a test batter on Australian soil.” Sundaresan said.
Despite the tension in this series, the fans at the SCG yesterday knew they had likely seen the last of an all-time great here in Australia, and they rose to applaud the champion on his final walk back to the pavilion.
