"Virat And I Had A Conversation": R Ashwin's Honest Take On Kohli's Form

The crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad turned out to be lucky as they witnessed Virat Kohli's most-awaited 28th Test ton during India's fourth Test against Australia. The Star India batter touched the triple figures in the longest format after a hiatus of three years. Kohli, who earlier recovered from his lean patch in the T20I format with a fiery century against Afghanistan in the 2022 Asia Cup, brought up his 75th international ton on Sunday. The 34-year-old batter, who smashed 186 runs in the fourth Test, initially struggled to get a big score in the first three matches of the four-match series.

Veteran all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that he had a conversation with Kohli after India's loss in the third Test in Indore, where the former India skipper was dismissed for 22 and 13.

“Personally, Virat and I had a conversation after the Indore Test. Not that we both connect too often on such lines but I just personally felt that Virat was batting well,” said Ashwin on Star Sports after Day 5 of the fourth Test.

“He was getting time and was probably just getting out after getting starts, in the 30s and 40s. It was just about putting your hands around the shoulder and telling the person that you are batting brilliantly, just need to hang in there and things are going to turn around. It has turned for me in my cricketing career as well so, I felt a big knock (from Kohli) was around the corner," he added.

Ashwin went on to praise Kohli for his heroics in the T20Is against Sri Lanka, where he smashed two centuries in three matches. He also said the Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara are plus points for India in the upcoming matches.

"Even in the ODI series before this, Virat played some wonderful knocks. He is