cricket

Updated: Mar 02, 2019 09:37 IST

Skipper Virat Kohli enjoys a great home record and all eyes will once again be on the swashbuckling right-hander when the India take on Australia in the first ODI of the five-match series at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday.

After losing the T20I series at the hands of Aaron Finch and Co, captain Kohli will look to make amends in the final international series for India before the World Cup in UK.

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The reason why Australia can’t let Kohli settle down in the middle and cross the 50-run mark is because in his last five innings, the Indian superstar has converted fifty into a big hundred. Kohli did it twice against New Zealand in 2017 and then thrice against Windies last year.

121 vs NZ, Mumbai, 2017

113 vs NZ, Kanpur, 2017

140 vs WIN, Guwahati, 2018

157* vs WIN, Vizag, 2018

107 vs WIN, Pune, 2018

Meanwhile, during the pre-match press-conference, Kohli said he is ready to bat at number four if such situation arises. Recently, coach Ravi Shastri had indicated that Kohli could bat at No 4 in the World Cup and the skipper on Friday said that it’s not a big deal as his “game template” doesn’t change if he comes one place down the order.

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“If that’s the requirement of the team at a particular stage in the game or before a particular game, I’m more than happy to do it. I’ve batted a lot of times at No 4, so I don’t necessarily need to try it out because I’ve done that a lot of times in the past,” Kohli echoed his coach’s sentiment.

“My game doesn’t change from No 3 to No 4 because template is quite similar. In any given situation, I back myself to play the game that I know.”