Win Projections to be updated soon
With the controversy over Virat Kohli’s IPL 2024 strike rate behind him, cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has issued a new challenge for Kohli as India prepares for the upcoming five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia. Gavaskar expressed his wish for Kohli to join an elite group of batsmen by scoring a century at all five Test venues in Australia.
“On an individual level, [my wish] maybe for Virat Kohli is that he becomes the third overseas player who’s scored a Test century in all the Australian venues. I think he doesn’t have one at the Gabba, so if he gets a century at The Gabba, that means he joins me and Alastair Cook,” Gavaskar said during the launch of the Australia-India Summer of Cricket event, organized by the Australian Consulate in partnership with Cricket Australia.
Kohli has already secured centuries in Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, and Melbourne. The only venue missing from his list is The Gabba in Brisbane, where he wasn’t present during India’s historic win in their last Test there. Gavaskar’s challenge for Kohli is clear: score a century at The Gabba to complete the set and join Gavaskar and Alastair Cook in this rare achievement.
Gavaskar himself was the first overseas batter to score centuries at all five Australian Test venues, with his highest score of 172 in Sydney in 1986 and other notable innings in Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, and Brisbane. Alastair Cook followed suit, achieving the feat with centuries at Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, and Sydney.
Kohli’s record in Australia is impressive, with three centuries in Adelaide, two in Perth, and one each in Sydney and Melbourne. Gavaskar believes this upcoming series might be Kohli’s last tour down under, making the challenge even more significant.
Besides his expectations from Kohli, Gavaskar also expressed his desire to see India continue their winning streak in Australia. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy has been with India since 2017, and they have celebrated historic series wins in 2018/19 and 2020/21. Six years ago, under Kohli, India celebrated their maiden Test series win in Australia, and two years later, with stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane in charge, India, playing with a depleted squad, completed a very famous come-from-behind series win.
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