India’s star cricketer Virat Kohli is not having a great series with the bat in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but is making headlines for the wrong reasons. In the last Test in Melbourne, Kohli was involved in a physical altercation with youngster Sam Konstas.
Kohli was heavily targeted by the Australian media who even called him a “clown” for his tricks. With so much going on around him, former Australian captain Aaron Finch spoke about Kohli’s behavior in this series.
Finch spoke about Kohli’s shoulder barge with Sam Konstas at the MCG and claimed that the India veteran tried to start a fight by doing things that could inflame him to do 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 was trying to be antagonistic to give his best performance.
“Virat (Kohli) is always someone who thrives under pressure and thrives when his back is against the wall. He’s just trying to get his back against the wall at this stage.” Finch noted.
“He tries to be antagonistic, he almost tries to pick a fight, because he plays when he feels someone is approaching him. That’s when he shows all his skills,” he added.
Virat Kohli was involved in a shoulder barge with Australia’s recent debutant Sam Constas on the first day of the Melbourne Test. After the 10th over, Kohli suddenly walked past Konstas and tapped him on the shoulder.
He looked back and both players fired several verbal volleys at each other before non-striker Usman Khawaja calmed them down. The matter was settled and Kohli was fined 20 percent of his match fee.
Aaron Finch on Virat Kohli’s batting at the MCG
Talking further about Virat Kohli, Aaron Finch felt that Virat Kohli motivates people to fight so that he gets motivated to perform well. He praised Kohli’s first innings in Melbourne, which was dismissed after being set.
“It’s just that he makes other people feel that way and we haven’t seen the best of him in this series yet. He looked good in the first innings in Melbourne and it looked like he wasn’t going to get out. But Australia bowled well,” said the 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 very well early in the innings, which made the Australian bowlers very busy. However, he lost his concentration and eventually slipped the ball behind to be easily caught by Alex Carey.
Latest figures of Virat Kohli
After his hundred in Perth, Virat Kohli has struggled for runs in this series. The veteran Indian batsman scored 167 runs in seven innings at an average of 27.83. He is constantly being tested with balls outside the off-stump as the Australian bowlers have so far been adamant about a set plan for him.
Kohli is struggling to overcome his weakness and is under immense pressure to perform in Sydney. Not just ongoing series, Kohli’s poor form has continued since India’s home Test season, where he amassed 192 runs in 10 innings at an average of 27.83.
