Premier Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne has suggested that Virat Kohli’s intensity has dropped recently as he shares his first memory of the Indian batting maestro. Kohli, one of the most successful Indian Test captains, was known for his aggressive leadership on the field as the Asian Giants started performing well on overseas soil. Under his captaincy, India became the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia during the 2018-19 tour. Kohli has a terrific record against Australia. He has scored 2042 runs in 25 Tests at an average of 47.48, including 8 centuries.
Labuschagne, who made his Test debut in 2018, asserted that Kohli was quite intense when he was the captain of the Indian team, but his intensity has dropped in recent times.
“My first memory of Virat was probably, from a playing perspective, the 2018 series. He was captain at that time, I think, and he was quite intense. When I watched the series, it was a very intense series,” Labuschagne told Star Sports.
“I probably haven’t seen that same Virat since then, you know, the start of that series. For a long time, he’s just been a quality act, but my first memory would be that,” he added.
Virat Kohli going through a rough patch
Kohli’s numbers have dropped drastically as his spin woes have gotten worse recently. In five Tests, he has scored 192 runs in 10 innings at an average of 21.33, with just one fifty. His scores during this home season are: 6, 17, 47, 29*, 0, 70, 1, 17, 4, and 1.
This year, Virat has scored just 250 runs in 12 Test innings across six matches at an average of 22.72 and failed to breach the triple-figure mark.
Meanwhile, the 0-3 series defeat to New Zealand has hurt India’s chances to qualify for the World Test Championship Final. For India to not depend on any other calculations to qualify for the WTC final, they would require a 4-0 result Down Under, which as of now looks next to impossible. India can still qualify after losing the Border Gavaskar-Trophy if other teams don’t fare well.
The much-awaited BGT will commence with the first Test–a day match–at Perth Stadium from November 22 to November 26, setting the tone for the series.
