ICC WTC 2021-23 final is on 7th June as India & Australia will tussle for the iconic trophy. Virat Kohli was the then skipper when India played against New Zealand in the 2019-21 WTC Final. Virat Kohli is in his form of life in both red ball as well as the white ball format
Australia & India are facing each other in ICC Final after 2003 when the Aussies had dismantled India and won the championship under the regime of Ricky Ponting. Skipper Rohit Sharma should not take Australia lightly despite winning BGT 2023 by 2-1 as the conditions at the Oval would be a completely different ball game.
Virat Kohli will be the priced wicket for Australia- Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting was having an interaction with ICC. Ricky Ponting opened up on his interaction with Virat Kohli. Ricky Ponting gave a warning to Australia that Virat Kohli has started to peak at the perfect time ahead of WTC 2021-23 final.
“I caught up with Virat Kohli about a month ago when we played them in Bangalore. 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,” said Ricky Ponting.
“You probably saw that night (*when he struck a ton against GT), 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. 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. “ said he added.
Steep road ahead for Australia
India had won BGT 2023 by 2-1 when the spinners had spurned a web across the batters. It would be interesting to see whether skipper Rohit Sharma & head coach Rahul Dravid play both quality spinners Ravindra Jadeja & Ravichandran Ashwin which can back-fired in 2019-21 WTC final.
Australia’s skipper Pat Cummins & the lethal speedster Mitchell Starc would be eager to dominate the terms as the duo didn’t participate in the recently concluded IPL 2023. Perhaps, Australia needs to use Mitchell Starc in short spells and use him as a secret weapon for the marquee clash.