Ahead of the Melbourne Test, former Australia spinner Shane Warne feels that this will be the best Boxing Day Test in a long while. The reason behind this, Warne feels, is the fact that two quality teams are battling it out with the series locked at 1-1, and also because Virat Kohli, the "greatest cricketer on the planet", will be a part of this historic moment.
In a video for Fox Sports, Warne said, "As a kid you dream of doing something amazing at the G and a few get lucky. It is electrifying, there is goosebumps and there is noise. Year after year, it is always good. This year it is great. It is great because the Test series is locked at 1-1. It is great because it is the best Test series on our shores in a long, long time.
"And it is great because of this guy, Virat Kohli - the greatest cricketer on the planet. And now we have an Australian captain in Tim Paine, a class act. Toe to toe, box office," the leg-spinning great added.
The video has been shared by Brett Lee on Facebook.
Commenting on the atmosphere at the ground, Warne said, “I love this town, it is the sporting capital of the world. And I love this place, the mighty Melbourne Cricket Ground. We come here every Boxing Day for Australia’s biggest day of cricket - Day 1 of the Melbourne Test match. More than 80,000 fans in the stands, millions listening and watching around the world, magically drawn to the history and tradition. This is where reputations are made.”
Virat Kohli has urged his batsmen to perform better as a unit to complement the efforts of their fiery bowling attack in the upcoming Boxing Day Test against Australia starting on Wednesday.
"It is very important for batsmen to stand up, because as everyone can see, our bowling has been performing really well. Otherwise, the bowlers won't be able to do anything with the totals that we have been compiling," skipper Kohli said on the eve of the third Test.