IND vs AUS: 'Virat Will Have To Improve In Tests" - Sourav Ganguly's Message To Virat Kohli Ahead Of The India vs Australia Series

Sourav Ganguly, who successfully predicted Virat Kohli’s return to form in August of last year, expects the former India captain to put up a much better performance in Tests, considering the importance of the series, which begins February 9 in Nagpur.

Kohli will be highly motivated. During the previous India-Australia Test series, Kohli returned home after India lost the first match in Adelaide to be present for the birth of his first child. At the same time, the squad scripted probably the greatest comeback story in history.

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With the century drought over, Kohli closed the year by scoring his first ODI hundred in more than three years, which turned out to be the beginning of a new trend. Kohli had a successful end to 2022 and a spectacular start to 2023, reaching two hundred in three innings against Sri Lanka with scores of 113 and 166 not out.

In a World Cup year, Kohli’s return to form in ODIs and T20Is is a great boost for India, but Test cricket still stands as the last hurdle. Virat will be up for a tough test when India faces Australia for the highly anticipated Test series, despite the fact that Kohli has only played two Tests in the past six months.

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“Virat Kohli has batted really well”: Sourav Ganguly

Given the significance of the series that kicks off on February 9 in Nagpur, Sourav Ganguly, whose prognosis of Kohli’s return to form struck the mark, anticipates the former India captain to put up a much-improved performance in Tests.

Sourav Ganguly was in charge when India ended Australia’s 16-game winning streak under those circumstances, so he is aware of the stakes, particularly now that both teams are strong favourites to play in the World Test Championship final.

“Yes, absolutely. He has batted really well – against Sri Lanka, against Bangladesh. He will have to improve in Test cricket because India depends on him and a very crucial series against Australia is approaching which I believe will be a cracker of a contest,” Sourav Ganguly said.

“I expect it to be very competitive. Both are extremely good teams and it’s quite possible that these two teams go on to play the World Test Championship final,” Sourav Ganguly told Sports Tak.