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‘He has two ducks’, still former Australian captain believes Virat Kohli will be the top-scorer in Sydney ODI
Virat Kohli, facing back-to-back ducks, enters the final ODI against Australia with pressure on him. Former captain Michael Clarke predicts a comeback.
Virat Kohli has been one of the great batters in the ODI format in history. However, he arrives at Sydney for the final match of the Indian tour of Australia ODI series carrying a rare burden. For the first time in his career, he has scored back-to-back ducks.
While many have been talking about whether it is over for the star player, former Australian captain Michael Clarke has backed the Indian maestro. He is not only predicting a return to form but also tipping Kohli to be the highest scorer in the final ODI.
Clarke’s confidence in Virat Kohli
While speaking on the Beyond 23 Cricket Podcast on YouTube, Michael Clarke said, “I will go with Joshy for leading wicket taker in this game. I’ve gone with Virat so far; he’s got two ducks. I am going to go with Virat Kohli for leading run-scorers in this game. Hazlewood leading wickets and Virat leading run-scorer.”
Clarke also predicted the result of the game. He felt that India would not like to go empty-handed from the ODI series and might look to build a bit of positive momentum for the upcoming T20Is. He said, “And I am going to say India win, so 2-1, India win. I predicted 2-1 Australia, so I don’t mind if India win this game. I just hope it is a really good game of one-day cricket; India won’t want to go home without a win. You are leading into the T20s as well, so a lot of the players will go into that format wanting to take some confidence.”
The predictions from Michael Clarke, especially about Virat Kohli, might appear a bit far-fetched to a general cricket fan. The Indian maverick has played 12 deliveries in the two matches so far and has not yet scored a run. Besides, experts have commented that Kohli has looked technically flawed, and his trademark hunger has been missing in the ongoing tour.
Kohli’s ODI numbers in Sydney will also not encourage his fans. So far, Virat has played seven matches at this venue and has scored 146 runs in them at an average of 24.33 with only one half-century. However, the fans will hope that the history this time turns out differently, just as it did in Adelaide, where Kohli had a brilliant record but failed to score a single run in the second ODI.
