'When he comes to bat in that WTC final...': Pathan warns Australia against 'completely different' Virat Kohli

Irfan Pathan has a warning for Australia ahead of WTC final against India: Don't confuse this version of Kohli to the one two years ago.

The century-drought is long over and the flow of runs is back. Virat Kohli is back batting at his best, and come the World Test Championship final starting Wednesday, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has a warning for Australia: Don't confuse this version of Kohli to the one two years ago. Kohli was the captain when India reached the final of the inaugural WTC but lost to New Zealand in the title clash. Back then, Kohli was far from his free-flowing best, not converting his starts into big scores, something that hurt him and his team dearly as India came up short against the BlackCaps.

As stats prove, Virat Kohli loves batting against Australia (ICC Twitter)

But after ending his rough patch, scoring century in all three formats, playing a blinder of a knock against Pakistan in last year's T20 World Cup, Kohli is once again at the top of his game, coming off a brilliant IPL 2023 that saw him score 639 runs and emerging as the fourth-highest run-scorer of the season. Pathan feels that if Australia mistake this Kohli to be the one of 2021, Kohli will rip them to shreds.

No. 4 is going to be the most crucial position for India, says Pathan

"This is a completely different Virat Kohli who has scored lot of runs. No doubt about it. He scored a 100 in Test match, T20 and ODIs. Hence, the drought of hundreds has gone away as well. A guy like Virat Kohli... always known him, he is a confident player. He has scored over 25,000 runs in international cricket. How has he done that? Through the confidence in his abilities. When he comes to bat in England in that WTC final against Australia, No. 4 batter is going to be the most crucial one for India," Pathan said on Star Sports.

It's no surprise that what drive Kohli the most is the opponent and the occasion, and Wednesday will provide both those scenarios. Kohli boasts a stellar record against Australia in Tests – 1979 runs in 24 matches at an average of 48.27 with eight centuries. In fact, the most success Kohli has had against any opponent in Tests are the Aussies.

Will Australia make use of Kohli's bitter-sweet record in England?

Having said that, Pat Cummins would be aware of Kohli's topsy-turvy record in England. In 2014, he was exposed by James Anderson, but four years later, when Kohli returned to his gravest challenge, the former India captain was a completely different batter, peeling off almost 700 runs from five Tests. Three years later, Kohli looked a lot assured but couldn't score big as India took a 2-1 series lead before the decider was rescheduled to the following year.