The d-day has arrived and India is all set to take on New Zealand on the World Test Championship (WTC) final in Southampton (June 18). And while Virat Kohli will look to dampen Kane Willaimson's mood, he will also be looking at a major personal milestone.
The Indian skipper who has been looking to bring an end to his century drought could threaten former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting's 'world record'.
Kohli had last scored a Test hundred in India's first-ever day-night Test against Bangladesh in 2019. He has been in search of his 28th ton in the longest format of the game since then and if he manages to score a century in the final, he will surpass Ricky Ponting's record to create a new world record.
The Indian captain is currently just a century short of breaking former Australia captain's record of most international hundreds as captain. Presently, both Kohli and Ponting are tied at 41 international hundreds and a ton against the Kiwis will add another feather to Kohli's cap.
Kohli was India's highest run-getter with a staggering 593 runs in five matches.
Meanwhile, former India cricketer Parthiv Patel believes Virat Kohli would take inspiration from his performance in the 2018 series in England to tackle the challenges in the WTC final.
"I think probably he will have to give himself a bit of time and try to think what he did in 2018 – where he got a number of hundreds," Parthiv said on Star Sports' Game Plan.
"So, probably he is better equipped than he was in 2014, but there will be challenges and there will be challenges of a variety of fast bowlers. The reason being – it is not a one-dimensional fast bowling attack," he added.