IND vs AUS: Calling this tour a nightmare for the batters, Ponting backs Virat Kohli to bounce back soon

It’s been some time since Virat Kohli last hit a hundred in the Test format, but for someone like Ricky Ponting, nothing worries him about the India legend. Against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup last year Virat ended his century drought in international cricket and despite hitting a couple more hundreds in the white-ball format prior to this series, he hasn’t looked comfortable replicating his same form in Tests. Speaking of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series itself, Kohli has just scored 111 runs across three Tests, let alone being a threat to the opposition in home conditions. 

Talking about Kohli, Ponting said he’s not bothered about Virat’s form as he knows he will bounce back. Admitting a batter is as aware of his poor form as those who are watching and writing about him is, Ponting believes Kohli will find a way back soon.

“For Kohli, I have said that over and over, champion players always find a way. He might be in a bit of a drought at the moment and might be not scoring runs which we all expect him to score but he is a realist as well. When you are a batsman and you are struggling and not scoring runs, you are pretty aware of that yourself. I am not concerned about this because I am confident he will bounce back,” Ponting said on ICC Review.

Speaking about Australia’s big win in the Indore Test and how with that they sealed their qualification in the finals of the World Test Championship, Ponting said what they achieved after being down badly in the first two Tests calls for appreciation. 

Opening up about the pitches that were used during this series and how the batters from both teams have fared on them, Ponting admits it’s all but incredibly difficult for anyone to score runs on such tracks, and it’s not just because of the turn, but because of the uneven bounce that has caused more trouble.

“I am not looking at anybody’s form in the series because for batters it has been an absolute nightmare. Australia have done a remarkable job by turning around those first two Test matches and coming back to win the third. We all know batting has been so incredibly difficult. And it has not been because of the turn, but also the uneven bounce which makes you lose trust in the wicket and if that happens you are guessing all the time which makes batting really difficult,” he added.

The fourth and final Test begins in Ahmedabad on March 9th.