It Has Been an Absolute Nightmare: Ricky Ponting on Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli has scored 111 runs in BGT 2023 [AP Photo]
The ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 has been a not-so-fairytale affair for Virat Kohli, who has scored just 111 runs in three Tests. Despite looking in good nick, the odd misjudgment in shot selection, coupled with a few debatable decisions, Kohli's lean patch in red-ball cricket continues.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who has been a vocal advocate for Kohli during his dry run, refrained himself from making any remarks about the former India skipper's performance in the BGT 2023.
Speaking on ICC Review, Ponting explained the pitches on offer in India have hardly given players a chance to show their class or exhibit their craft.
The tracks have all assisted spinners, and made it quite hard for the the likes of Marnus Labuschange, Steve Smith or Cheteshwar Pujara to score let alone an out-of-form Kohli.
Here's what Ponting said
“I am not looking at anybody's form in the series because for batters it has been an absolute nightmare. Australia have done a remarkable job by turning around those first two Test matches and coming back to win the third.
"We all know batting has been so incredibly difficult. And it has not been because of the turn, but also the uneven bounce which makes you lose trust in the wicket and if that happens you are guessing all the time which makes batting really difficult.”
The former two-time World Cup-winning captain reaffirmed that Kohli will soon find his mojo in five-day cricket, and be back into scoring big daddy runs.
The star batter will be expected to come into form for India when they take on Australia in the fourth Test on Thursday.
 "Vishal Mehra")
