Virat Kohli steps up on the big occasion: Brett Lee on WTC final

The joy of the first is unparalleled. India won the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007 and 14 years later, they are at the cusp of emulating the glories of MS Dhoni’s team, this time in the longest format under a captain who drools over Test cricket.

 Virat Kohli has always emphasized how Test cricket is the ultimate format and how he wants his side to be always the side to beat in this format. After two years of gruelling effort across countries, they are up against New Zealand in the World Test Championship final. The enormity of the occasion and the reputation of the opposition means that it is going to be a battle royale.

Former Aussie pacer Brett Lee thinks that Virat Kohli will step up on the big occasion because he is very serious about this format.

"Both captains (Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson) would want to raise a trophy at the end. In terms of the Indian skipper, Kohli, he is such a dynamic player, such a great influencer for the team, world-class batter," Brett Lee said in an ICC press release.

"We know that that's a given. But I think that with his emphasis on how important Test cricket is to him, and his team, and his nation, it is going to weigh in very heavily on him and that will improve his performance. We know that Kohli steps up on the big occasions.

"He wants to see his side be the first winners of the ICC World Test Championship. It means a lot to him. And I think that will be the talk.

Brett Lee, who is hugely popular with the Indian fans, said that once the team is done with its preparation, the talk will be about enjoying the game and becoming the first-ever side to win the ICC World Test Championship.

"Once everything is said and done, once the preparations are done, when they arrive there when the quarantine is done, just before they walk out, I think that will be the last comment - Let us enjoy it but let us become the first side to ever to win this ICC World Test Championship," Lee signed off.