'Haven't seen that same Virat since 2018 series' - Marnus Labuschagne reflects on Kohli's Test slump

Virat Kohli is going through another rough patch in his career. The batter has not scored a century in Tests since the West Indies tour in 2023. Moreover, his recent outings in the Bangladesh and New Zealand series were dismal. In the series against the Kiwis, the star India batter managed to score only 93 runs in six innings. 

Apart from the slump, as is the case with all Indian batters recently, Kohli has been struggling to counter the spin. He was dismissed several times while defending the balls from the finger spinners and wrist spinners alike. As the 36-year-old readies himself for Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne recalled his first impression of “intense” Kohli in 2018. He also added the batter seems to miss the same charm.

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"My first memory of Virat was probably, from a playing perspective, the 2018 series. He was captain at that time, I think, and he was quite intense. When I watched the series, it was a very intense series. I probably haven't seen that same Virat since then, you know, the start of that series. For a long time, he's just been a quality act, but my first memory would be that," Labuschagne told Star Sports.

Do or die series for India in Australia 

It is worth noting that India will be playing Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after tasting a rare series loss at home at the hands of New Zealand. They have never lost the BGT since 2016-17. Further, they have won the series on both occasions when they travelled Down Under since 2016.

The series also holds much more importance for India as they need to win at least four out of five Tests in the series to see themselves in the World Test Championship finals. On the other hand, Australia are on top of the WTC points table followed by India in the second spot.