Star Indian cricketer Virat Kohli expects another masterclass innings from his long-time teammate Rohit Sharma in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, starting on June 7th at the Kennington Oval. Kohli reflected that the right-hander performed admirably opening the innings the last time India played Test cricket in England.
With question marks around his ability in the seaming conditions in England, Rohit shut his critics with a match-winning hundred at the Oval in the 2021 series against the hosts. The veteran opener finished with 368 runs in four Tests at 52.57 and forged a solid partnership with KL Rahul.
In a video posted by the ICC, Kohli said he hopes to see the opener replicate his 2021 heroics at the Oval. The 34-year-old admitted how tough it has been to open the innings in this era and that he enjoys watching Rohit bat.
"I’ve had amazing partnerships with him and I have thoroughly enjoyed it from the other end when he’s going great guns. He’s performed really well in these conditions [England]. Last time around, he got a hundred at The Oval. Hopefully, he can repeat the same in this final as well. Opening is not an easy job and he has done a wonderful job opening the innings for us in the last three-four years. He’s really performed amazingly well in all formats of the game for us in the recent past and [is] someone that when you watch him play, you enjoy it."
Virat Kohli says Rohit Sharma always has more time than anyone to play the ball:
While Kohli acknowledged Rohit's exploits in white-ball cricket, he agreed that the captain has improved remarkably in the red-ball format over the years. He added:
"I have always said that he has always got more time than anyone on the ball. That's the special ability he had from day one. When I saw him play the first time, I understood what the hype was all about and why he was rated so highly. What he has done for India in white-ball cricket over a long period of time, we all knew. But the way he has performed in Test cricket over the last three-four years is a testimony to his temperament towards playing Test cricket and having belief in himself that he can do it in Test cricket as well at the highest level."
Apart from 49 Tests, Rohit has also mustered 9825 ODI runs and 3853 T20I runs.
