The former team India captain, Virat Kohli has gone on to establish himself not just as one of India’s greatest, but the world’s greatest batsman. More than just his contribution as a batsman, Virat Kohli has been one of the key players in team India’s recent success. In the year 2014, Kohli was handed over the captaincy in Test format after MS Dhoni announced his retirement and in the coming years, Kohli was handed over the captaincy in the limited-over formats as well.
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Under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, team India might not have witnessed great success in ICC events but his legacy as captain Virat Kohli will arise from the way he led team India to the final of the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021. One of the best moments under Virat Kohli’s captaincy was India’s maiden Test series win in Australia in 2018/19. Kohli couldn’t win any of the ICC trophies as white-ball captain but his overall captaincy record is a dream for any captain.
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Virat Kohli dropped a bombshell by quitting Test captaincy just a day after team India’s surprising series defeat against South Africa. While captaining team India’s test side for seven years, Kohli has produced some incredible knocks, and today at Man’s Life, we’ll take you through some of Virat Kohli’s best innings as team India’s captain.
▶ 141, VS Australia, at Adelaide, 2014
#OnThisDay in 2014, @imVkohli became the first captain to score Hundreds💯 in both the innings of a Test on his captaincy debut❤.
115 & 141 v Australia at The Adelaide Oval.
Despite his efforts India lost the match by 48 runs.#viratkohli #ausvind pic.twitter.com/Pro7X6iVXd
— virat_kohli_18_club (@KohliSensation) December 13, 2019
In his first-ever Test match as the Team India captain, Virat Kohli produced a masterclass at the Adelaide Oval. The Indian skipper trashed the Australian bowlers all over the park while scoring 141 runs. In the opening innings of the match, Kohli scored a century that helped team India put on a score of 333 runs after which Australia scored 290 and set a target of 364 runs. Kohli could’ve easily settled for a draw but instead, he went for the win and gloriously executed those 141 runs. In the end, India fell short of just 45 runs as other Indian batters were not able to contribute to the match.
▶ 235, VS England, at Wankhede, 2016
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Things were not going well for the Blues in the match at Wankhede against England back in 2016. The Indian middle-order started to collapse with the fall of four wickets for just 45 runs. The skipper lacked support but in came Jayant Yadav and the two took India’s final tally to 634 runs out of which Virat Kohli scored an impressive 235 runs off 340 balls, hitting a total of 25 fours and a single six.
▶ 153, VS South Africa, at Centurion, 2018
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Back in 2018, Virat Kohli toyed with South African bowlers as he went on to score 153 runs in the first innings of the 2nd test of the series at the Centurion. The skipper blazed a massive century marking his 21st Test ton to go with 15 half-centuries, a stat which was only bettered in the game by Australian legend, Don Bradman. Wickets kept falling for team India but Virat Kohli stayed put till the end as he tried to attack the bowling before getting caught on deep mid-on and losing the match by 135 runs.
▶ 149, VS England, at Edgbaston, 2018
40 test wins
First Indian captain to win test series in Australia
Only Indian captain to win more than one test match in Australia, England and South Africa
And many more achievementsLooking forward to see you contribute as player #ViratKohli #shameonbcci pic.twitter.com/hyvDEM9LtL
— Sanjit (@Sanjit253170) January 15, 2022
Everyone should remember this incredible knock by Virat Kohli in Edgbaston back in 2018. It all started with England fans booing Kohli when he walked out to bat on the pitch and by the end of his 149 runs knock, everyone in the stands stood up to appreciate his beautiful innings. The England team gave Kohli multiple lifelines after dropping two of his catches and then looked clueless when captain Virat Kohli turned things around. After facing 225 balls, scoring 149 runs, and hitting 22 fours and a six, Virat Kholi got caught on square point after a Rashid Khan delivery put an end to a massive inning.
▶ 254*, VS South Africa, at Pune, 2019
254* for king kholi pic.twitter.com/PmvMOw7YWj
— Ritam dey (@Ritamde71514918) October 16, 2019
The former Indian skippers’ knock against South Africa in Pune 2019 has to go down as Virat Kohli’s best innings as a player. As a matter of fact, 245 is Virat Kohli’s highest score in a test match. Kohli hit 33 fours and two big ones to take his tally to 254* after facing just 336 balls with a strike rate of 75.59. The century in that match marked Kohli’s 26th Test century and his 69th international century across all formats. Not only that, but he also broke the record set by Don Bradman of 150-plus scores by a captain. Virat Kohli’s 254 marked his seventh Test double-century, which is the most by an Indian batsman.
[Featured Image Credit: ANI]
Shashank Iyer