Aaron Finch believes Virat Kohli is adopting an aggressive mindset, trying to create pressure to regain his best form in the BGT 2024-25.
Former Australian captain Aaron Finch believes Virat Kohli’s aggressive behavior on the field could be his way of regaining form in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Kohli, who struggled in the New Zealand series with an average below 16, started the Australia series strongly with a century in Perth. However, his form has dipped again, averaging under 28 in the series so far.
India trails 1-2 with one Test remaining, and Kohli’s performances remain critical. In Melbourne, the batter clashed physically with Australian debutant Sam Konstas during the first innings after Konstas scored a quickfire 60.
Finch suggested that Kohli thrives under pressure and might be creating a confrontational atmosphere to perform at his best.
“Virat’s someone who’s always thrived on pressure and he’s thrived when his back is against the wall. It just feels like at this stage, he is trying to put his own back against the wall. He’s trying to be antagonistic, he’s trying to almost pick a fight because that’s when he plays when he feels like someone’s coming at him. That’s when he puts all his skills on show,” Finch said on the Around The Wicket podcast.
“It just feels like he’s pushing other people to make him feel like that and we’ve not seen the best of him in this series yet. He looked beautiful in the first innings at Melbourne and looked like he wasn’t going to get out but Australia have bowled well,” he added.
However, former Australian captain Michael Clarke has backed Virat Kohli following his controversial shoulder-barge with debutant Sam Konstas during the Melbourne Test. Clarke suggested the incident likely stemmed from Kohli’s frustration at the lack of respect shown to Jasprit Bumrah.
“I know Virat as well, he would have spoken to Sam after the game. Virat’s a great guy. So those two would have sorted it out. I don’t know (if) Virat would have said sorry, whatever it was. Virat is not a nasty person. So that would be fixed 100%. I think Virat was getting frustrated with the lack of respect that Sam was showing the best bowler in the world in Bumrah. I think that’s what frustrated Virat,” Clarke had said to News18.
Meanwhile, India suffered a 184-run defeat, trailing 1-2 in the series with one Test left. India must win the final Test at Sydney, starting January 3, to level the series and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
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Last Updated on January 1, 2025
