Virat Kohli gave thrill to Indians and chills to 'pundits' elsewhere: Story of his unapologetic yet unprecedented legacy
Uncompromising, unfettered and unapologetic. To go with unmatched, unparalleled and unprecedented. Virat Kohli has been all this and more.
A tepid start and a less-than-memorable ending bookended a career most glorious as Virat Kohli redefined the contours of Test batsmanship, especially during an unparalleled five-year stretch when he was by a distance the best batter in the world.
An eventual average of 46.85 from 123 games doesn’t do justice to the impact the 36-year-old had on the five-day game. The dramatic dip in numbers from the beginning of 2020 did take some sheen off a journey of numerous spectacular highs, but it will do little to erode his standing as one of the country’s greatest batters of all time.
Numerically, both in runs scored and centuries amassed, Kohli slots in at No. 4, behind Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and the great Sunil Gavaskar, who brought respect and stability with his fierce powers of concentration and his magnificent exploits against some of the fastest bowlers the game has seen. Comparisons, even between batters of the same generation, are odious and it will be both doubly naïve and foolhardy to indulge in that exercise when it comes to players of different eras. Suffice to say that Kohli stands tall and in a league of his own, both for his consistency and his willingness and ability to take the game forward, qualities that potentially set him apart from most of the rest of the best.
Virat Kohli's Test career in numbers
Kohli made an underwhelming start to his Test career with a frugal 76 runs from five innings on his maiden tour, to the Caribbean in June 2011, and signed off with 190 runs from nine hits in Australia in five Tests between November last year and this January. But the intervening period saw him strike heady notes, especially during a stunning five-year spell between the end of 2014 and the end of 2019 when runs, hundreds and double-centuries flowed off his bat with the certainty of night following day and vice-versa.
By the time of his Test debut, Kohli had already made a name for himself as a fabulous 50-over batter, and chaser, and it came as no surprise when he bounced back after the temporary Caribbean blip to quickly hit his straps in the five-day game. Coincidentally, it was against West Indies that he made his first meaningful scores in Test cricket, following up 52 in the first innings of his comeback game in Mumbai in November 2011 with 63 in the second. Two months later, he unleashed the first of his 30 centuries, a flowing 116 in Adelaide in the final Test of a series to forget for India. It was typically Kohli–feisty, counter-punching, dotted with several glorious strokes and the more-than-occasional run-in with opponents and rowdy spectators. It was the start of not just a memorable Test career but also a compelling love-hate relationship between ‘Virat’ and a grudgingly respectful Australian audience.
Australia, for some reason or the other, continued to hold a special place in Kohli’s heart. Months after a disastrous tour of England in the summer of 2014 when he scored only 134 runs in ten innings, he bounced back with twin hundreds in his first Test as captain (in a stand-in capacity) at the Adelaide Oval. By the end of that tour, he had become the skipper in his own right following Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s mid-series retirement, stacking up four tons in as many games to kickstart a remarkable 60 months when he captained the side with aggression and backed up demands of fitness and commitment from his colleagues with one magical knock after another.
Between November 2014 and November 2019, he smashed 5,347 runs in 55 Tests at the staggering average of 63.65; 21 of his centuries came in this phase, including all seven of his 200-plus scores. With the captain firing on all cylinders, India were an unstoppable force at home, of course, but also overseas. It was during this run that India registered their first series victory in Australia, further adding to Kohli’s stature as the country’s most successful Test captain. He led India in more Tests (68) and to more victories (40) than anyone else, and his win percentage of 58.82 will take some beating.
While Kohli the batter ticked all boxes, it is impossible to overlook the contributions of the package that the mercurial Delhiite has been. His non-negotiable insistence on fitness played a huge part in India’s successful run and alongside head coach Ravi Shastri, he strung together a pace attack that ensured overseas Test and series triumphs. Kohli exploded the fear of losing, tirelessly advocated the cause of Test cricket at a time when it was facing massive challenges, and put his money where his mouth was, ensuring that while Indians loved him and ‘pundits’ elsewhere didn’t so much, no one could ignore him or his influence in elevating the stock of the five-day game.
Uncompromising, unfettered and unapologetic. To go with unmatched, unparalleled and unprecedented. Virat Kohli has been all this and more. He leaves Test cricket richer, but also poorer in his absence, if you know what we mean.
