Ace India batter Virat Kohli did not have luck favouring him much when he was the captain. As a member of the team, the 34-year-old is in good nick and if former Australia captain Ricky Ponting is to be believed, the Indian cricketer feels he is "back to his absolute best" and even said his wicket would be the most prized by by Australia in the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final starting at The Oval on June 7.
Speaking at the official curtain raiser for the mega event in New Delhi on Friday (19), Ponting, who is the most successful Test captain for Australia, unveiled the Test Mace -- the prize for which the two powerhouses would lock horns next month. He also interacted with local junior players and the media in an event which was organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
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The former batter, who is set to return to Australia after Delhi Capitals play their final match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Saturday (20) against Chennai Super Kings, said he "can't wait" to go to London shortly after to make commentary for the big final. The 48-year-old is the head coach for the Capitals who had a disappointing IPL this year.
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He spoke about Kohli on the occasion saying, “I caught up with Virat about a month ago when we played them in Bangalore. And I had a good chat to him about his batting and where he was at and his career. And he said to me then that he actually feels like he's almost back to his absolute best," a news report on ICC website said.
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“You probably saw that last night, you know, he's had a very good IPL and I'm sure he'll be the prize wicket that all the Australians are looking are looking forward to.”
Kohli slammed a 63-ball 100 against Sunrisers Hyderabad for Royal Challengers Bangalore in a crucial game in the IPL in Hyderabad on Thursday (18) night, helping his team win and enter the top four teams. The ace batter is in a good touch in this IPL, scoring more than 530 runs in 13 matches.
The ace batter belted 186 against Australia in his last Test outing in Ahmedabad in March in a series that India won 2-1.
India, who lost the last WTC final against New Zealand in 2021 under Kohli's captaincy, will be missing some key players -- wicket-keeper-batter Rishabh Pant, opening batter KL Rahul and pacer Jasprit Bumrah -- all due to injuries.
According to Ponting, the final would revolve around a contest between India's top order and Australia's pace bowling attack.
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