Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin were two stars for Men in Blue in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2023, with one finishing at the top of the run-getter tally from team India in the four-Test series, while the other was the series’ highest wicket-taker with 25 wickets.
Indian team won the BGT 2023 by a 2-1 margin as the last Test got drawn at Ahmedabad. Ace off-spinner Ashwin has revealed his conversation with Kohi after the Indore game.
Ashwin said in the post-match interview-
“Personally, Virat and I had a conversation after the Indore Test. Not that we both connect too often on such lines. But I personally felt, Virat was batting well, he was getting time and was getting out after getting 30s and 40s,” said the bowling all-rounder.
Virat Kohli scored his 28th Test ton at Ahmedabad–and broke the shackles of not scoring a ton in the longer format of the game since 2019. Kohli with his blistering knock in the fourth test match emerged as the highest run-getter for team India in the series.
“It was always evident and it needed someone to put an arm around his shoulder and say, ‘you are batting brilliantly, you just need to hang in there for a bit and things are going to turn’. And it’s turned for me in my cricketing career as well,” said Ashwin.
Rohit Sharma-led side lost the Indore Test by nine wickets, after getting dismissed for 109 and 163 mark in both innings of the third test match.
“I felt the big knock was around the corner. Even in the ODI series before this, Virat did play some of his wonderful knocks. Having him and Puji batting well together gives us a lot of advantage because one can eat up balls and the other has a real presence,” he further added
The former Indian skipper was struggling to score in the longer format of the game for the Asian Giants–the star Indian batter had last scored a Test century in November of 2019 against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Since then, he couldn’t reach the three-figure mark in international cricket till Asia Cup 2022. The right-handed batter scored two centuries in the last ODI series against Sri Lanka on his home soil.
As Sri Lanka lost the first test match against New Zealand it was evident that team India will play the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Australia and Asian Ginats (IND VS AUS) again in the longer format of the game but for a title clash in England on June 7.