Legendary Australian cricketer, Ricky Ponting stated that the Indian stalwart, Virat Kohli reckons that he is ‘back to his absolute best’ and that his wicket will be the most prized by Australian cricketers in the upcoming ICC World Test Championship 2023 Final. India and Australia will be facing each other in the WTC final and the match will be commencing on June 7 at The Oval. With two dominant sides in world cricket going head-to-head in Test cricket for the coveted trophy, the anticipation among fans has been palpable.

In an ICC-organized event, Ricky Ponting unveiled the Test Mace. He stated that he “can’t wait” to return to London as a commentator for the WTC23 Final. India’s No. 4 Virat Kohli has been unstoppable since regaining form – he scored his sixth IPL century against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday – and Ponting believes that will cause problems for Australia.

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Describing the same, Ricky Ponting said, “I caught up with Virat about a month ago when we played them in Bangalore. And I had a good chat to him about his batting and where he was at and his career. And he said to me then that he actually feels like he’s almost back to his absolute best. You probably saw that last night, you know, he’s had a very good IPL and I’m sure he’ll be the prize wicket that all the Australians are looking are looking forward to.”

Some crucial Indian cricketer will be missing The Ultimate Test – Rishabh Pant is a long-term absentee, KL Rahul was ruled out of the Final due to an injury sustained in the IPL, and Jasprit Bumrah is still recovering from a back problem. With that in mind, Ponting stated that the Final would be centred on the battle between India’s top order and Australia’s fast bowling attack.

Elaborating the same, Ricky Ponting said, “I think it’ll be India’s top order against Australia’s fast bowling, It’s a bit of a mouth-watering thought going forward. Generally, we think about the battles between India’s spinners and Australia’s batters. But will that be negated by the wicket at The Oval?”

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He further added, “Normally the wickets that I’ve played on The Oval have started as really good batting wickets, and actually have offered a little bit to the spinners as the game’s going on. That’s what I’d like to see in this wicket – to have a really good contest on day four, day five, or maybe even day six, seeing how it’s going.”