Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has stated that Virat Kohli believes that he is back to his best ahead of World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The 48-year-old is looking forward to watching some quality Test cricket at The Oval from June 7.
India’s number four Kohli has been irresistible since he found form – he scored his sixth Indian Premier League (IPL) century against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday (May 18) — and Ponting believes that spells trouble for Australia.
"I caught up with Virat about a month ago when we [Dehli Capitals] played them in Bangalore," said Ponting. "And I had a good chat to him about his batting and where he was at and his career. And he said to me then that he actually feels like he's almost back to his absolute best.”
The Australian legend also claimed that Virat’s wicket would be the biggest prize for Australia in the final.
“You probably saw that last night, you know, he's had a very good IPL and I'm sure he'll be the prize wicket that all the Australians are looking are looking forward to,” he added.
The three-time World Cup-winner said the final would be a battle between India’s top-order and Australia’s pace attack.
“I think it'll be India's top order against Australia's fast bowling, It’s a bit of a mouth-watering thought going forward," he said.
“Generally, we think about the battles between India's spinners and Australia's batters. But will that be negated by the wicket at The Oval? Normally the wickets that I've played on The Oval have started as really good batting wickets, and actually have offered a little bit to the spinners as the game's going on," he said.
Ponting, who is serving as a head coach of Delhi Capitals, is set to head back home after his team’s final game of IPL 2023 against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday (May 20). Still, he said he “can’t wait” to get to London shortly after that in his capacity as a commentator for the WTC23 Final.
- Ricky Ponting