Australia in command, Indian hopes hinge on a Kohli classic

With India needing another 280 runs on final day, Virat and Rahane will hope to build on 71-run stand

- ASHISH MAGOTRA

A chase in the fourth innings immediately brings up memories. For some and perhaps the Australians of this generation too, it means Rishabh Pant’s incredible 89 at Brisbane in the 2020/21 tour. But go back a few decades and there are few who wouldn’t have reminisced about Sunil Gavaskar’s 221 at The Oval in 1979.

India have neither Gavaskar nor Pant in their playing XI for the World Test Championship against Australia at The Oval. But they do have a certain Virat Kohli in the mix and this is his shot at immortality.

At close of play on Day 4 of the World Test Championship final, India were 164/3, chasing 444 to win. Kohli, 44, and Ajinkya Rahane, 20, were at the crease. The equation going into the final day is 280 runs needed with seven wickets in hand.

For much of the Indian Premier League, Kohli has been telling anyone who would listen that he is back in top form. The numbers added up to 639 runs in 14 games. If nothing else, he had his timing down and Test cricket is so much about that.

But over the course of a long and storied Test career, Kohli has played many great knocks but do any of them stand out like Gavaskar’s 221 or Pant’s 89; do any of them blow you away as the two aforementioned knocks do? Indeed, do we have the definitive Kohli knock or are we still looking?