WTC 2023: How Virat Kohli fared in previous ICC finals?

The much anticipated World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 Finals will be held at The Oval in London. It is all set to be an important matchup between India and Australia. The Indian team remains steadfast in its goal of winning the highly coveted ICC Trophy under the captaincy of vivacious Rohit Sharma.

There will be a significant reliance on Virat Kohli, who enters the game after turning up an outstanding performance in the IPL 2023, with an impressive total of 639 runs and an average of 53.25. Therefore, a lot will depend on Kohli’s performance and skills because he is carrying a lot of expectations into the match.

As per a Sportskeeda report, despite his previous less remarkable performances in away Test matches, Kohli’s depth of experience in high-stake situations makes him an essential asset for Team India in the next tournament. Here is a look at Kohli’s representation in ICC finals.

Performance of Virat Kohli in ICC finals throughout the years :

World Cup 2011: For Indian cricket fans, India vs Sri Lanka World Cup final is particularly important. The Indian team finally won after 28 years and took home their second ever 50-over championship.

A 22-year-old Kohli played a significant role in the game despite Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar being out early. He scored 35 runs off 49 balls before being caught by Tillakaratne Dilashan off his own bowling.

Champions Trophy 2013: This was India’s most recent victory in an ICC tournament. Virat Kohli once again played a very crucial part in helping them defeat England in the finals, which was held in Birmingham. The 50-over match was reduced to 20 overs due to rain, and Kohli finished as India's leading scorer with a 34-ball 43. Even though England's bowlers did an outstanding job of holding India to 129/7, Kohli's innings assured a respectable total. With the help of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ishant Sharma, India's bowlers successfully defended the total by reducing England to just 124/8 in the second innings.

T20 World Cup 2014: The finals in Dhaka against Sri Lanka, Kohli unquestionably had his one of his most outstanding performances. Kohli displayed his outstanding abilities and scored a staggering 77 runs. But the Lankans successfully chased down the score, inspired by an unbeaten 52 from Kumar Sangakkara. While Sri Lanka celebrated their first-ever T20 World Cup triumph, Kohli was recognised as the Player of the Tournament after amassing 319 runs at an average of 106.33.

Champions Trophy 2017: Kohli suffered an ICC final defeat against Pakistan. Batting first, Pakistan set a score of 338/4, with Fakhar Zaman scoring an amazing 114 off 106 balls. The Indian top order was plagued by Mohammad Amir, and India's pursuit got off to a catastrophic start when Rohit Sharma was dismissed in the opening over. Amir got Kohli, who had only achieved five runs from nine balls, in his second over, taking the valuable wicket.

India suffered a loss, dropping the game by a huge margin of 180 runs. This is India's most recent participation in an ICC limited-overs championship match.

WTC Final 2021: At the Rose Bowl in Southampton, Virat Kohli hit 44 and 13 in the two innings of the maiden World Test Championship final versus New Zealand.

Unfortunately, India was defeated by New Zealand by eight wickets.

In order to help India win their first ICC trophy in ten years, Kohli now confronts a similar hurdle.