Indian cricket star Virat Kohli is not having a great run with the bat in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy but has been making headlines for the wrong reasons. In the last Test in Melbourne, Kohli was involved in a physical confrontation with youngster Sam Konstas.
Kohli found himself a fierce target of the Australian media who even called him a ‘clown’ due to his antics. With so much going on around him, former Australian captain Aaron Finch opened up about Kohli’s behavior in this series.
Finch discussed Kohli’s barge with Sam Konstas at the MCG and claimed that the Indian veteran is trying to start the fight by doing the kind of things that can motivate him to give his best.
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Virat Kohli “trying to be antagonistic” – Aaron Finch
Aaron Finch was speaking on the ‘Around the Wicket’ podcast after India’s loss to Australia in Melbourne. Finch spoke about Kohli’s behavior and claimed that Kohli tries to be antagonistic to give his best performance.
“Virat’s (Kohli) someone who has always been under pressure and thrives when his back is against the wall. It seems like he is trying to put his back against the wall at this stage,” observed Finch.
“He tries to be antagonistic, he tries to almost start a fight because that’s when he plays when he feels like someone is attacking him. That’s when he shows all his skills,” he added.
Virat Kohli was involved in a barge with Australia’s latest debutant Sam Konstas during the first day of the Melbourne Test. After the end of the 10th over, Kohli suddenly appeared to walk past Konstas and ram his shoulder into him.
He looked back and both players fired several verbal volleys at each other before non-striker Usman Khawaja had to calm them down. The matter was settled and Kohli was fined 20 percent of the match fee.
Aaron Finch on Virat Kohli’s knock at the MCG
Further talking about Virat Kohli, Aaron Finch feels that Virat Kohli pushes people to fight so that he has the motivation to perform well. He praised Kohli’s first knock in the Melbourne innings in which he was dismissed after winning a set.
“It just seems like he makes other people feel that way and we haven’t seen the best of him in this series yet. He looked beautiful in the first innings in Melbourne and it looked like he wasn’t going to get away but Australia bowled well,” he said. is a former Australian opener.
Kohli scored a patient 36 off 86 balls in the first innings of the Melbourne Test. The 36-year-old left the ball extremely well at the start of his innings which made the Australian bowlers work hard. However, he lost his concentration and finally pushed the ball behind him for Alex Carey to catch easily.
Virat Kohli’s recent numbers
After the hundred in Perth, Virat Kohli has struggled for runs in this series. The Indian veteran scored 167 runs in seven innings at an average of 27.83. He has been constantly tested with balls outside the off-stump as the Australian bowlers have so far stuck to a set plan for him.
Kohli is struggling to overcome his weakness and is under immense pressure to perform in Sydney. Not just the ongoing series, Kohli’s poor form has continued since the domestic Test season in India where he amassed 192 runs in 10 innings at an average of 27.83.
