Virat Kohli will be the man in focus when India take on England in the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston on Friday. The tourists currently have a 2-1 advantage in the five-match series and despite enjoying supreme form, the England unit led by new captain Ben Stokes will have to produce their A game to stall the star-studded Indian line-up.
India are yet to open their account at the venue, having lost six out of the seven Tests the team has played here. However, the last time India traveled to Birmingham for a red-ball encounter, back in 2018, former skipper Kohli had put a splendid show for the fans. The right-handed batter had then scored a ton and a half-century in both the innings, however, it was not enough as India endured a 31-run defeat.
And now with two premier batters KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma missing, the onus will be be on Kohli, who himself would be desperately wanting to end the century drought. The 33-year-old batter has failed to notch a ton in over two years and a string of low scores in recent outings has put Kohli in bit of a spotlight.
Amidst all the takes surrounding Kohli, former England captain Michael Vaughan made unique assessment about the talismanic cricketer. Sharing his thoughts on the historic Test, Vaughan feels Kohli will be the player to watch out from the Indian camp. He also went to make a big claim about the Indian smashing a hundred if he edges past the 30-run mark.
“The Indian player to lookout for at Edgbaston is Virat Kohli. Just go back a few years when he produced one of the greatest Test match century on this ground. I think he’s due. When you look back, how long has it been since he got three figures?
“It’s been a long long while for Virat Kohli, if he can get to 30, I reckon he’s gonna get that three figures that he’s been desperately wanting for such a long period of time,” the ex-England captain noted on Cricbuzz.
Meanwhile, in the absence of Rohit, pacer Jasprit Bumrah will be seen leading India in the match. It was under Kohli’s captaincy that the team managed to a eke a 2-1 lead in the four matches that were played last year before the series got suspended due to a Covid outburst in the Indian bubble.