New Delhi: Australian batting great Ricky Ponting believes that Virat Kohli’s wicket will be the focus of every Australian bowler in next month’s World Test Championship final as his confidence has increased a lot after a stellar performance in the IPL. Speaking at a preview of the ICC World Test Championship final between India and Australia to be held at The Oval in England from June 7, Australia’s most successful former captain said, “A month ago during an IPL match in Bangalore, I spoke to Virat and he told That he is feeling that he has returned to his best form. ‘On the occasion of the unveiling of the World Test Championship mace, Ponting said,’ I am sure all the bowlers of Australia will have their eyes on his wicket. The final match will be between India’s top order and Australia’s fast bowlers and will get the best of Test cricket. Some players of the Indian team are injured. KL Rahul is not there and Bumrah will also be missed, but Mohammed Shami is in form and hopefully both the teams will be able to field their best XI or else cricket fans will be disappointed.”
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The Oval pitch being similar to home pitches will give Australia an advantage. He said, ‘The conditions at The Oval suit Australia and I think it will benefit the Australian team. It is generally understood that the contest will be between the Indian spinners and the Australian batsmen, but the pitch at The Oval initially favors the batsmen and from the third to the fourth day, the spinners have a role to play.
He said, ‘It can be seen in two ways. Virat has been scoring runs consistently in the IPL and has a lot of confidence while the Aussie cricketer hasn’t played that much but will go in with mental preparation. However, he has neither scored runs nor taken wickets in the last few years.
Ponting said, ‘The Indian players playing here will not be thinking only about the IPL. Surely their workload management will be taken care of and now with the playoffs and finals left, the players have enough time to rest. Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are in England and adapting to the conditions. Sean Abbott and Michael Neser are also there so that they are ready in case any fast bowler gets hurt.
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