Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket PlayersTwin captaincy milestones for Virat Kohli after India win T20I series against Australia
When Hardik Pandya hit a huge six off Daniel Sams in the last over to seal a six-wicket victory for India at the SCG, Virat Kohli became the only international captain to win a series (more than one match) across all formats on Australian soil.
The 16-day gap between IPL 2020 final and the first India-Australia ODI at SCG was dominated with the talks of split captaincy and paternity leave – both quite unusual in Indian cricket. 10 days into the Australia tour and the outcome of limited-overs series already decided – Australia won the ODIs 2-1 and India took an unassailable 2-0 lead in T20Is – India captain Virat Kohli, who was in the eye of the split captaincy and paternity leave storms, found his own way to navigate through both.
Kohli did not single-handedly drive India to victory in any of the five matches – three ODIs, two T20Is – but his twin half-centuries in the ODIs and a crucial 24-ball 40 in the 195-run chase in the 2nd T20I oozed class.
Also Read | ‘In the past, we had Dhoni’: Langer identifies new finisher for Team India
When the batsman Kohli was making full use of the time he is in Australia, entertaining the crowd with his switch hits and classic cover drives, captain Kohli did not sit idle. He too went about his business.
Also Watch l ‘Why dual captaincy won’t work in Indian team?’ Kapil Dev explains l #HTLS2020
When Pandya hit a huge six off Daniel Sams in the last over to seal a six-wicket victory for India at the SCG, Kohli also became the only international captain to win a series (more than one match) across all formats on Australian soil.
Kohli had won the Tests and ODIs the last time India toured down under in 2018-19 but had to be content with a draw in the T20Is. This time, however, he led India to a comprehensive series win with the last match still to be played.
Also Read | ‘The next 4-5 years’: Virat Kohli talks about the selection of Hardik Pandya in 2016
Faf du Plessis is the only other captain to achieve victories in Australia in all three formats but his T20I victory came in a one-off affair in 2018. He had led South Africa to 2-1 Test series win in 2016-17 and a 2-1 ODI series win in 2018-19.
Kohli also became the first Indian captain to win T20 series in SENA countries – South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia. Dhoni, the only other Indian captain to have led the side in all these countries in the shortest format had failed to win a T20I series in England and New Zealand.
Apart from the record-books, which never have been against Kohli both as a batsman and captain, what impressed many was the way he handled youngsters like T Natarajan and Sanju Samson.
Kohli backed both Natarajan and Samson and pushed them in situations where they had a chance to make meaningful contributions towards the success of the team.
Last but the not the least, the decision to play Hardik Pandya as a specialist batsman and bat him higher than his usual No.7 position paid rich dividends for India in this tour.
