IND vs AUS 2023: The quality was always there – Rohit Sharma on Virat Kohli’s performance

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is hopeful that Virat Kohli could keep his limited-overs format form going in the red-ball version. Kohli scored a patient knock of 186 runs off 354 balls with the help of 15 fours in the fourth Test match at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.

Meanwhile, after a couple of mundane seasons, Kohli got back into form in the Asia Cup after he scored a fine hundred in the T20 format against Afghanistan. The talisman then also delivered the goods for the team in the T20 World Cup, scoring a magnificent match-winning knock against Pakistan in the opening game.

Kohli was getting off to starts in the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia but he wasn’t able to convert them into a big score. The right-hander had scored 44 and 20 in the Delhi Test match and looked assured on the challenging wicket. However, Kohli was finally able to get a big score in Ahmedabad as he showed all patience.

“You know, in white-ball cricket as well from I think it was from Asia Cup, he got that hundred and then it just never looked back. And I hope that it is going to be the same with the red ball as well. You know, the quality is there, obviously, and it’s just about going there and applying yourself and doing your own things, which I think he did pretty well,” the Indian captain said in the press conference after the series.

“He just did his own thing. Rather than worrying about the scoreboard and anything else, he just batted the way he bats usually. And that is what got him the success, you know, to bat out so many overs, so many balls on a pitch like that on day three and day four is not easy,” Rohit further added.

Kohli has now scored five centuries across formats in the last six-seven months and he has got back to his previous best. The 34-year-old from Delhi will want to carry the same form in the ODI series against Australia and then in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The first ODI between India and Australia will be played at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Friday.