Basit Ali Predicts Big Centuries for Virat Kohli in Upcoming Test Series Against Bangladesh and New Zealand
New Delhi, India – Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has predicted that star batter Virat Kohli will score some ‘big centuries’ in India’s upcoming Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand. Virat will return to the Test format for the first time since playing for India during the South Africa tour in January this year. He missed India’s home Test series against England due to the birth of his son, Akaay.
Since then, Virat has experienced a challenging T20 World Cup and Sri Lanka tour and is eager to regain his top form. Basit believes fans will see Virat hitting the three-digit mark against Bangladesh and New Zealand. ‘In the England series, Virat wasn’t there. He didn’t perform well in the Sri Lanka series. But in the Bangladesh and the New Zealand series, you will see big centuries (from Virat). Not 110 or 115, you may see a 200-run knock from him,’ Basit said on his YouTube channel.
During India’s successful unbeaten run in the T20 World Cup, Virat finished the tournament with 151 runs in eight matches at an average of 18.87. In India’s surprising 2-0 ODI away series defeat against Sri Lanka, Virat, like the rest of the batters, struggled against spinners, scoring only 58 runs in three ODIs at an average of 19.33.
The two-match series against Bangladesh will begin on September 19 in Chennai, with the second Test starting on September 27 in Kanpur. India announced the squad for the first Test against Bangladesh on Sunday. Skipper Rohit Sharma, young top-order batters Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Virat will form a strong batting lineup for India.
KL Rahul returns to the Test setup after missing most of the England Test series due to an injury. Dynamic wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is back in Test cricket for the first time since his life-threatening accident in December 2022. The spin quartet of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav will provide the team with both batting and bowling options. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Yash Dayal will make up India’s pace lineup.
Basit named his playing XI for the first Test, choosing Kuldeep over Axar due to Bangladesh’s lineup featuring many left-handed batters. ‘Rohit, Jaiswal, Gill, Kohli, Rahul, Pant, Jadeja, Ashwin, Kuldeep, Bumrah, Siraj,’ Basit named his playing XI.
Doubts Revealed
Basit Ali -: Basit Ali is a former cricketer from Pakistan. He used to play cricket for his country and now he talks about cricket and makes predictions.
Virat Kohli -: Virat Kohli is a very famous Indian cricketer. He is known for scoring a lot of runs and is one of the best batsmen in the world.
Test series -: A Test series is a set of cricket matches played between two countries. Each match can last up to five days, and it’s a very important format in cricket.
Bangladesh -: Bangladesh is a country in South Asia, next to India. They also have a national cricket team that plays against other countries.
New Zealand -: New Zealand is a country far away from India, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. They also have a strong cricket team.
England series -: The England series refers to the cricket matches that India was supposed to play against England. Virat Kohli missed these matches because his son was born.
T20 World Cup -: The T20 World Cup is a big cricket tournament where teams from different countries play T20 matches. T20 matches are shorter and last about 3 hours.
Sri Lanka tour -: The Sri Lanka tour means the Indian cricket team went to Sri Lanka to play cricket matches. Tours are when teams travel to other countries to play.
Chennai -: Chennai is a big city in India, located in the state of Tamil Nadu. It has a famous cricket stadium where many important matches are played.
Rohit Sharma -: Rohit Sharma is another famous Indian cricketer. He is known for hitting a lot of sixes and scoring big runs.
Yashasvi Jaiswal -: Yashasvi Jaiswal is a young Indian cricketer who is very talented. He is considered one of the future stars of Indian cricket.
Shubman Gill -: Shubman Gill is a young and talented Indian cricketer. He has already played some important matches for India.
KL Rahul -: KL Rahul is an Indian cricketer who can both bat and keep wickets. He is known for his stylish batting.
Rishabh Pant -: Rishabh Pant is an Indian cricketer who is known for his aggressive batting and wicket-keeping skills. He had an accident but is now returning to play.
