IND vs AUS | Virat Kohli is Virat Kohli; he always finds ways to score runs, reckons Sanjay Manjrekar

In the last ten years, Virat Kohli has grown from strength to strength, becoming one of the best cricketers in the country across all the formats. However, there was a point in Kohli’s cricketing career where he was almost dropped from the Indian side, following a string of failure in the longest format. Timely intervention and support from the former skipper MS Dhoni ensured that the right-hander continued the series and played out the rest of the Tests against Australia, where he would eventually make the break with a century. 

Ahead of the first Test in Adelaide, all eyes would be on the Indian skipper, who would be returning to Australian territory - this time as the skipper who led the side to a 2-1 win over the hosts in the 2018-19 season. Former Indian cricketer-turned-expert Sanjay Manjrekar reckoned that Virat Kohli, being himself, will find ways to score runs in the toughest of conditions when the two sides take on each other in the pink-ball Test.

“Virat Kohli is Virat Kohli. He always finds ways to score runs. The hundred that he scored in the 2011/12 series, India lost it 0-4. They’d lost to England 0-4. And I think that was the only century scored by an Indian in that series,” said Manjrekar, reported HT.

“He was a young man who actually was on the verge of getting dropped after Sydney. Dhoni backed him; he played in Perth scored a 70 and then he got that hundred,” he added. 

Ever since Kohli’s resurgence in Test cricket, he has been a different entity to deal with, as bowlers have faced the wrath from time to time. However, ahead of the first Test, Manjrekar gave a close look at the conditions on offer, admitting that the pitch is going to be closer to home for the Indians. 

“Now at Adelaide, a lot of Indian batsmen have got runs. It’s a pitch closer to home. It’s got pace but the bouncer comes around this high (Pointing to his chest). It’s like an Indian pitch, but because it’s day/night and there’s going to be the pink ball, that changes things completely. The thing with Virat Kohli is that later, in 2014/15, he hit four hundreds,” Manjrekar added.