India skipper Virat Kohli needs to revisit 2018 to get back into the habit of scoring hundreds though it won’t be easy against New Zealand’s bowling attack which possesses variety, said former India wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel. India plays New Zealand in the World Test Championship final that begins on Friday.
“I think probably he will have to give himself a bit of time and try to think what he did in 2018 — where he got a number of hundreds. Probably he is better equipped than he was in 2014 [when he scored 134 across 10 innings in England]. But there will be challenges and there will be challenges of a variety of fast bowlers. Reason being — it (New Zealand’s) is not a one-dimensional fast bowling attack,” said Patel on Star Sports.
Kohli had ended the year 2020 without an international century, his first such calendar year in 12 years.
His debut year, 2008, when he was picked to the national side after leading India’s under-19 team to a World Cup title, was the last time before 2020 that he endured a calendar year without a century.
In 2020, he played 22 international games which, compared to the recent few years, is quite low since Covid-19 ensured India did not play international cricket for almost nine months. This is the first time since 2009 that the talismanic India batsman has played as few as 22 matches.
Kohli made seven international tons and 14 fifties in 2019, 11 tons and nine fifties in 2018, and 11 tons and 10 fifties in 2017.
