Virat Kohli Banks on digital Stellar Wankhede to break Ricky Ponting’s grand record in 2nd test against New Zealand

India will get a much-needed boost with the return of regular captain Virat Kohli for the second and final test against New Zealand in Mumbai starting on Friday (December 3). Kohli, who did not appear in the three-game T20I series and also in the Kanpur First Test, will be back as the leader of India to play the first match under newly appointed head coach Rahul Dravid. Kohli’s presence on the side would certainly bolster India’s middle-class order, which is already struggling to keep up as Cheteshwar Pujara and the experienced Ajinkya Rahane are out of touch.

Kohli will enter the field at Wankhede Stadium on Friday with a giant record in sight. The 33-year-old currently has 70 centuries past formats with 41 of them being captain. Kohli needs just a century to overtake legendary Australian beater Ricky Ponting to enroll hundreds as captains on tournaments. Both Kohli and Ponting are currently at the top of the table with 41 tonnes each as captain.

However, Kohli is not the one with the best touches in red-ball cricket. The ODI and Test India captain, who sets extremely high standards, has not scored in a century in any format for more than two years. The last time Kohli scored a century ago was 56 plays against Bangladesh in a Day/Night test in November 2019.

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But the India captain is returning to Wankhede Stadium, where he has averaged 72.16 – his third best run at a particular venue in the Tests. Kohli scored 433 runs in the four Tests he played at Wankhede Stadium. Furthermore, the last time he played at this venue, he scored 235 times against England in 2016.

The weather in Mumbai – it’s been raining for the past two days – could help beachgoers at first but if India takes the lead, trust Kohli to come out with positive intentions. India’s captain had been training with former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar at CCI in Mumbai prior to this Test.

“It’s just to maintain the tempo of the game of red ball cricket. The idea is to get the repetition and the volume, which is important in Test cricket, so it’s just getting into the mold of switching between the balls. This is something I always try to do. Whenever I get a chance to get my hands on different formats, it’s more of a necessity than anything technical,” Kohli said. said in a virtual press conference on the eve of the film.