Can Virat Kohli Break the THREE-YEAR Long Exile on Ahmedabad's Day 4?


image-lf40a274IND vs AUS: Virat Kohli's batting on 59* on Day 3's end (AP Photo)

Ahmedabad has seen three intriguing days of Test cricket so far, and another much-anticipated day awaits us on Day 4. If the third day was all about Shubman Gill's blistering century, then the fourth day can see Virat Kohli break a three-year-long exile of not scoring a hundred in Test cricket.

So far in the series, Kohli has batted well in pieces. His knocks at Delhi and Indore were even better than centuries if batted on better tracks; however, the universe had other plans for destiny's child.


Why destiny's child?

Just like his comeback in white-ball formats, Kohli found the right way to get the perfect jam in the Test format. He went back to the basics, tinkered his technique a bit, adapted to the conditions and adjusted to what & where the bowler is bowling. And, of course, his mental toughness came into the picture.

Since the Asia Cup 2022, Kohli isn't going for those glittering cover drives of his. Instead, he's letting the ball come to him. He's also getting inside the line of the ball and using the flick shot to a great extent. And suddenly, runs have started to flow.

Yes, we shouldn't be celebrating a 59 not out that much, as Kohli is 41 runs from the landmark, and you never know when he gets an unplayable delivery - to which he falls. 

However, a thing that should be celebrated is his tenacity to score runs in Ahmedabad. He survived thrice on the first four deliveries that he faced. But the tea break played to his advantage as a short leap would have calmed a few nerves. After the break, he was middling everything and was not misjudging anything. It seemed that he was deemed to score in Ahmedabad. Destiny deemed it for its favourite child.


Miracle to be delivered!

Odds are stacked against India, they are still trailing behind Australia's first-innings lead, and 3/5 of the match is over. But for them to win, the best scenario has to be batting for the entire day, getting 300-odd runs and letting their tweakers roll the dice on the final day of the Test match.

And if the universe has scripted a fairytale return for Kohli, then he might not just get a hundred but can convert it into a double. On a track like this, he would be India's greatest hope if they want to regain a substantial lead. 

However, apart from him, batters such as Ravindra Jadeja, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel will have to come to the party if India want to pull out a win off a Test match that is heading towards a draw.

But again, nothing can be said in cricket as one never knows when a delivery would be bowled with their name written on it.

All in all, a huge day of Test cricket awaits us in Ahmedabad, and let us see what plans the universe has reserved for destiny's child.