IND vs AUS 2023: It didn’t look like Virat Kohli was sick: Axar Patel says Indian star ran hard between the wickets

Virat Kohli’s wife Anushka Sharma had earlier revealed that the star batter batted through sickness in the fourth Test match against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. However, Indian all-rounder, Axar Patel feels Kohli didn’t look sick to him with the way he was running between the wickets on Day 4.

Kohli went on to score a mammoth knock of 186 runs against the Aussies, which is his personal best against Australia. As always, Kohli ran a lot of twos in his innings and batted at his absolute best.

In fact, Kohli reached his century with the help of only five fours and thus he scored 80 runs while running between the wickets. Kohli is known for his fitness and though he was struggling a bit with his hamstring, he kept running the hard twos even at the fag end of his innings.

Kohli and Patel added 162 runs for the sixth wicket, with the latter scoring a fine knock of 79 runs to continue his prolific form.

Meanwhile, this was Virat Kohli’s 28th Test century and his 75th International hundred, reaching there in 552 innings. Furthermore, Kohli had scored his last Test ton back in 2019 when he reached the three-digit mark against Bangladesh in the pink-ball Test at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

“I don’t know,” said Axar when asked about Kohli’s sickness in the press conference. “The way he was running between the wickets, it didn’t look like he was sick. The partnership with him was good.”

The all-rounder admitted he missed a chance to score his maiden Test century. Earlier, in the series, Patel had returned with scores of 84 and 74 at Indore and Delhi respectively.

“I’m aware of the chances that I missed. The positive out of it is I could bat the way I wanted to bat. We had a good partnership, especially when the team needed one. I’ll think about it (missing out on a hundred) when I return to my home,” said Axar.

Patel went on to add that selection is not in his hands and he tries to be consistent when he gets his opportunity in the final XI.

“Getting a place in the playing XI is not in my hands. Whenever I get an opportunity, I try to perform. I only think about what is in my hands. Whether I’m selected or not that is in the hands of the coach and captain. If I keep performing consistently, I think I’ll be able to have my place in the team,” said Axar.