What to expect from Virat Kohli in Boxing Day Test as he returns to one of his hunting grounds, MCG?

What is Virat Kohli‘s greatest inning? Most would say his 82-run knock at the T20 World Cup 2022 against Pakistan, where he won Team India a match from somewhere even he couldn’t imagine. The venue was the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). His 169 in 2014, when India was 147/3, still trailing 383 runs, that inning came at the ‘G’ as well. His 117-run knock in 2016, where he got India to 295 on his own. That too was at the MCG.

It’s a home ground, away from home for Kohli. He’ll take the field tomorrow (December 26) with the aim of finding his usual form at the MCG. It’s been a poor 2024 for the former Indian captain, who averages a little over 25, and since hitting that Perth hundred, he’s scored just 21 runs in the next three innings.

Virat Kohli’s record at the MCG

	Innings	Runs	Average	50s	100s	Highest Score
Test	6	316	52.66	2	1	169
ODI	6	252	42	0	1	117
T20I	4	198	99	2	0	82*
Total	16	766	54.71	4	2	169

Kohli’s struggles

It’s not like 2024 is an aberration. Since 2020, Kohli has averaged under 30 in all but one year. The end seems closer than ever now, and rumours have it that one of Kohli or Rohit Sharma might just retire after the India vs Australia Test series ends. No one knows if that’s a personal decision or a directive from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), but if it indeed is BCCI’s demand, performing at MCG would be the chance to show it’s still got it.

The end is near?

If Team India doesn’t qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final, what’s the use of persisting with an ageing star in Kohli? The BCCI might just want to invest in someone else at number 4, with the England Test series scheduled to be played in June-August.

This is exactly why Kohli needs to show he’s got it at the ‘G.’ If after that he chooses to step away or continue doing what he’s always done, winning matches for India, that’s entirely up to him.