Virat Kohli scored a rare 0 and 13 in the Pune Test match against Australia, and his wicket-taker in the first innings and fierce competitor Mitchell Starc feels the numbers aren’t enough to keep him down for a longer period.
Happen to call the Indian captain as a class batsman, Starc said he knows Virat won’t just sit down and he will comeback hard and strong in the next Test in Bengaluru, which is also the home ground for his IPL side Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Keeping his feet on the ground, Starc added the win at Pune is not enough and a lot more needs to be done re-write history for Australia.
“He’s a class player, we all know that. He’s scored a mountain of runs already this year. We’re going to have to be wary of that Virat comeback. We are really happy that it happened that way for us, but we know that one Test is not going to win us the series. It’s three important Test matches to go.”
Observing that Virat has an extra edge over other batsmen’s in the side, the left-arm pacer said picking him up early is a key and that Australia need get him out six times in the series to grab the honours.
Starc, who dismissed Kohli on a nought in the first innings also cherished getting Pujara out with a peach of delivery prior to that.
“We know (Kohli) is going to be another key wicket for the rest of the series. There’s six more times we’ve got to get him out to really cement this series. We know he’ll come back bigger and stronger, but he’s one I’ll take over Pujara at the moment.”
The second Test match between India and Australia will begin on March 4 in Bengaluru.