“To allow Virat Kohli to score 100…”: Australia's brilliant take on India star's Perth Test century

Former Australia captain Michael Clarke has criticized the Pat Cummins-led side for allowing India's star batsman Virat Kohli to score a century in the first Test in Perth earlier this week. Kohli arrived in Australia under immense pressure after India's home Test series defeat against New Zealand, where he scored just 93 runs in six innings. However, the former India captain was in pristine batting form as he scored his 30th Test century and the 81st of his illustrious international career.

Analyzing his innings, Clarke suggested that the century in Perth would boost Kohli's confidence for the remainder of the series.

“Yeah, you can't really ask for a better second innings than that. How he came to the crease, there was minimal pressure on him, he wasn't scoring as many runs as he wanted, to get a walk out like that, Dominating the situation. He played the way we know Virat can play. So what he did was he switched because he knew he needed some runs for his confidence, so he did. Worked hard first and played my natural game till the end. Having earned the right to play his innings, it was like, everyone was sitting there saying, Virat is back, and there's no doubt about that,” Clarke told ESPN Around the Wicket.

Clarke criticized Australia for letting Kohli settle into the series so early and said that the hosts have a tough task ahead, with Kohli getting back to his best.

“Now, as I mentioned earlier, there was a ball thrown in this series. The best players, you don't want to see them on top at the beginning of the series. You want them to have the work off their backs to get into the series. And if they score 100 runs in three or four Test matches, you accept it because they are very good, but to allow them to score 100 runs in the first Test, we have to keep them down. There's still some work to be done to get that confidence. He has found his rhythm and is at his best, which is why he has been the best player in the world for so long.”