England’s ultimate test as Kohli seeks revenge

THE Indian summer has arrived early this year and no one is more relieved than Virat Kohli. The last time he visited Old Trafford, in 2014, the skies were grey and James Anderson swung it round corners, dismissing Kohli for nought and seven as India fell to an innings defeat. Now, the sun is shining and the world’s most revered batsman has a score to settle. His side’s two-month tour begins with a Twenty20 international in Manchester that might be regarded as low key were it not for the fact that it brings together the two most thrilling white-ball line-ups in the business. And it is the start of a personal odyssey for India’s captain, whose tour four years ago is still remembered for a disastrous Test series, in which he averaged 13. Even in a different format — three T20 games will be followed by three one-day internationals and five Tests — the narrative already looks clear. Can Kohli tick off one of the few items left on his bucket list? The answer could decide the course of India’s tour. ‘Obviously you want to perform as an individual,’ he said. ‘But I haven’t set any benchmarks or targets just because the last tour here didn’t go well. I just want the team to play good cricket and I want to lead from the front.’ Make no mistake, though, Kohli is desperate to right earlier wrongs and would have spent a month acclimatising with Surrey had he not picked up a neck injury. Instead, he has had to settle for scores of nought and nine as India demolished Ireland in two Twenty20 games at Malahide last week. But he is still the best one-day chaser in history and averages a 48 in T20 internationals — five more than anyone who has played more than 20 games. Asked whether there is a tougher challenge in limited-overs cricket than bowling to Kohli, England captain Eoin Morgan paused for a while. ‘That’s a very good question,’ he said. ‘I’m not sure I have the answer.’ Morgan retreated further into his shell. Do his side have plans to stop him? ‘Yes.’ Can he say what they are? ‘No.’ England are set to name an unchanged side after their victory over Australia at Edgbaston last week.

ENGLAND and Hampshire spinner Mason Crane will miss the rest of the season with a recurrence of a stress fracture in his back.