'Virat Kohli's bad days are over,' says Virender Sehwag
Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has had a lean patch of late. The former Indian captain hasn't registered a ton since November 2019. However, he looked in solid touch in the practice match against Leicestershire prior to the one-off Test against England, starting July 1. Kohli scored 33(69) and 67(98). Highlighting the same, former India opener Virender Sehwag feels Kohli's bad days are over.
"Do you remember when was the last time, Kohli scored a century? Even I don't remember. He would definitely want that he scores big in this Edgbaston Test which is the series decider," said Sehwag during Sony's pre-match show. "I think his bad days are over. Ab lagta hai behtar din ayenge, and they have already started. He has scored a fifty," he added.
In April, Kohli played his 100th competitive game without scoring a century. The tally included 17 Tests, 21 ODIs, 25 T20Is, and 37 IPL matches. His last century came in 2019 during the Day/Night Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata. He had scored 136 off 194 during India's first innings. Since then, Kohli has failed to touch the three-digit figure in competitive cricket.
Since the start of 2020, Kohli averages less than 50 in T20Is (47.35), less than 40 in ODIs (39), and less than 30 in Tests (28.03). He also fared poorly in India's last Test series against Sri Lanka. Kohli scored just 81 runs across three innings against the Island Nation. Since November 2019, he has scored just 841 runs in 30 Test innings.
Kohli's last ODI ton was against West Indies in August 2019. He had slammed 114* off 99 deliveries. He hasn't brought up a hundred in 50 overs since then. The run machine has averaged a mediocre 37.66 in this period. Kohli has 791 runs from 21 ODIs (10 fifties). He has registered a duck on three occasions.
Kohli didn't have a desirable run as per his standards in IPL 2022. He could fetch only 341 runs at 22.73. He recorded three ducks in the season, joint-most in 2022 with KL Rahul, Rashid Khan, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, and Anuj Rawat.
Despite his lean patch, Kohli still averages 54.11 in international cricket. He has the seventh-most runs (23,650) across formats. With 70 international centuries to his name, Kohli is only behind Sachin Tendulkar (100) and Ricky Ponting(71). Among active cricketers, David Warner and Joe Root follow Kohli with 43 tons each. All Kohli needs is one knock to get back his rhythm.
A lot rides on Kohli at Edgbaston as Rohit Sharma will likely sit out, having returned COVID-19 positive. Rohit had taken over the reins from Kohli, who helped India gain a 2-1 lead in the five-match series last year. The Trent Bridge ended in a draw before India won at Lord's. England bounced back at Headingley, while India won the Oval Test.
