Virat Kohli Names His Best Test Century In Australia From Six Years Ago At Perth

Virat Kohli, a prominent Indian cricketer, has chosen his century at the WACA in Perth from six years ago as his favourite Test innings on Australian soil. This comes as anticipation builds for what might be his last tour of Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Kohli's record in Australia is impressive, with 1352 runs at an average of 54.08, including six centuries and four half-centuries. Despite his current inconsistent form, he remains a formidable player Down Under.

Among Kohli's six Test centuries in Australia, three were scored at Adelaide Stadium. The others were achieved at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), and WACA. However, he considers his century on a challenging Perth pitch during the 2018-19 series as his best innings in an away Border-Gavaskar Trophy match.

In that memorable Perth match, Kohli scored 123 runs with 13 boundaries and a six. This innings stands out as his finest achievement in Australia and was also his last Test century there.

"My best knock in Australia is definitely my 100 at Perth in the 2018/19 series. I thought that was the toughest pitch I played on. It was great to get a 100 on that wicket," Kohli stated in a BCCI video.

The upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series presents significant challenges for Kohli. He aims to regain form while addressing technical issues that have affected his performance recently.

This year, Kohli's performance has been below par, with only 488 runs from 19 international matches at an average of 20.33. He has managed just two half-centuries in 25 innings, with a top score of 76.

Kohli's decline is stark compared to his peak years between 2016 and 2019 when he scored 4208 runs in Tests at an average of 66.79. During this period, he hit 16 centuries, ten fifties, and seven double centuries as captain.

Struggles Since 2020

Since the start of 2020, Kohli has struggled in Test cricket, scoring only 1838 runs across 34 Tests with an average of 31.68. He has managed just two centuries and nine fifties during this time.

This year's home Test season against Bangladesh and New Zealand further highlighted his struggles. In those matches, he scored only 192 runs over ten innings at an average of 21.33, with one fifty.

Kohli's dip in form led to him dropping out of the ICC Men's Test batting rankings' Top 20 for the first time in ten years. His place on the team has been questioned recently; however, Australia often serves as a stage for redemption.

The upcoming series offers Kohli another chance to make a comeback starting with the match at Perth this weekend.