'He's trying to be antagonistic, trying to pick a fight' - Aaron Finch's strange take on struggling Virat Kohli

The Indian batters have not been at their best in the Border-Gavaskar series as Australia are leading the series 2-1 going into the final Test in Sydney. Pat Cummins and Co. secured a stunning victory in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne to gain a lead and will be high on confidence coming into the last game of the series. As for India, the batters who have failed most often are the seniors Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Kohli has been one of the best batters in Australian conditions, having scored 1519 runs at an average of 49 in the 17 matches. However, this series has not been far from. In addition to his batting failures, Kohli's on-field issues have also brought him in the firing line. One such instance was the shoulder-barge against Sam Konstas at the MCG, which resulted in him getting a 20% fine on his match fees and a demerit point as penalty. 

Meanwhile, former Australia skipper Aaron Finch has made a strange assessment, saying that Kohli is trying to pick fights on purpose since that brings the best out of him.

Also Read: 'Very loose shots' - Ravi Shastri criticises Rohit, Kohli, and Pant's second-innings dismissals at MCG

“Virat is someone who has always thrived on pressure and he has thrived when his back is against the wall. It just feels like at this stage, he is trying to put his own back against the wall. He is trying to be antagonistic, he is trying to almost pick a fight because that is when he plays when he feels like someone's coming at him. That is when he puts all his skills on show," Aaron Finch told ESPN’s Around the Wicket podcast.

“It just feels like he is pushing other people to make him feel like that and we have not seen the best of him in this series yet. He looked beautiful in the first innings at Melbourne and looked like he was not going to get out but Australia have bowled well," he added.

Kohli has had another underwhelming year in Test as could score just 417 runs at a poor average of 24.52. His performance in the WTC cycle of 2023-25 has also not underwhelming, with a tally of just 728 runs in 13 Tests at 34.66 with only two centuries.