Australian Great Clear Message To Team Australia Before the Finals of WTC
Ricky Ponting feels that the Australian cricket team will have to guard against the "thorn in their side" Cheteshwar Pujara and a "back at his best" Virat Kohli if they want to counter India in the World Test Championship final at The Oval next week. Mainstay of India's Test batting Cheteshwar Pujara could provide valuable insights to his teammates, as he had played extensively at Sussex in the English County Championship, whereas Kohli is at his absolute best, having cracked two centuries and six half-tonnes for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the recently-concluded Indian Premier League.
Ponting said, "The Australian team will be talking about Virat, no doubt about it, and they'll be talking about Pujara. They're the two. He has been a thorn in their side a lot in the past and in Australia, and this wicket will potentially be a lot more like an Australian pitch. They know that they'll have to get him early."
Pujara has 2,033 runs and five centuries in 24 Tests against Australia, and Captain Rohit Sharma will hope he makes a couple of more vital contributions for the side in the WTC final.
Kohli, apart from his brilliant form in the IPL, had smashed 186 in the fourth Test against Australia in March during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and is ready to take on a Pat Cummins-led Australia team.
Ponting said, "They also know that Virat, over the last few weeks, is probably just about back to his absolute best, albeit in T20 cricket. He told me that the feeling he's getting right now is that he's almost back to his best, and that's an ominous warning for the Australians going into a one-off game."