India vs England: Virat Kohli’s top five Test knocks as Indian cricket team skipper

Virat Kohli silenced his critics by scoring an impressive 149 to guide India to a fighting position on Day 2 of the first Test match at Edgbaston on Thursday. It was a commanding innings by the India skipper as he guarded the tail-enders and in the process, steadied the innings after losing wickets in a heap.

It was a classic captain’s knock as he kept his calm while wickets tumbled on the other end and along with the last three batsmen, he added 105 runs to leave the intriguing first Test finely balanced.

This was not the first time that the right-hander stepped in to play a brilliant knock for the Indian cricket team in a pressure situation and here’s a look at the top-5 knocks of Virat Kohli as skipper -

141 vs Australia – Adelaide (2014)

It was a big occasion for Kohli as he was handed the Test captaincy due to the absence of MS Dhoni and the flamboyant batsman celebrated the occasion with a special knock. Kohli scored 115 in the first innings as India posted 444 in response to Australia’s 517 and in the second innings, the visitors were given a target of 364 in 98 overs.

Most teams would have gone for the draw, but Kohli decided to attack and along with Murali Vijay, the skipper put together a partnership of 185. At the end of the day, India were unable to complete the chase but Virat Kohli’s 141 was a clear indication of his brand of cricket. In the process, he also became the second captain in history to score twin centuries on captaincy debut.

103 vs Sri Lanka – Galle (2015)

It was Virat Kohli’s first full Test series as captain and at Galle, the skipper came out to bat with India in a spot of bother. But, the hosts had no answer to Virat Kohli’s brilliant stroke play as he stitched together a 253-run stand with Shikhar Dhawan to guide his team to a commanding position. Kohli played with great control and maturity and scored a sublime 103 (his 11th Test ton and 8th away from home).

Virat Kohli’s career-best 235 helped clinch the fourth Test in Mumbai by an innings and 36 runs. (AFP)

235 vs England – Mumbai (2016)

When India reached Mumbai for the fourth Test of the five-match series, they were already 2-0 up and skipper Virat Kohli was in tremendous form. With scores of 40, 49*, 167, 81, 62 and 6* in his last 6 innings, Kohli looked set for yet another huge knock and the right-hander delivered with an impressive 235 in the first innings to take India’s total over 600.

It was his third Test double hundred, and the most ever made by any Indian cricket team skipper. The innings gave India a solid advantage in the first innings and with Indian bowlers performing well, England were beaten by an innings and 36 runs.

204 vs Bangladesh – Hyderabad (2017)

It was a historic knock for a historic occasion as Virat Kohli played a special innings in the first-ever home Test against Bangladesh. The right-hander looked extremely comfortable from the beginning and his stroke play was a sight to behold. Kohli went on to score 204 off 246 balls and the innings had just 24 boundaries.

Thanks to the knock, he also became the first batsman to score 4 double hundreds in 4 consecutive series and also broke Virender Sehwag’s record for most runs by an Indian in one season.

Virat Kohli became the first batsman to score 4 double hundreds in 4 consecutive series. (PTI)

153 vs South Africa – Centurion (2018)

India were 1-0 down in the Test series and the batsmen were having a horrible outing when they arrived at Centurion. They needed some inspiration to get out of the rut and Virat Kohli stepped up to the task. The skipper played one of the grittiest knocks of his career to score 153 and became the second Indian captain to score a hundred in South Africa after Sachin Tendulkar in 1997.

In an innings where no other Indian batsmen could even reach 50, Kohli showed impressive resilience against the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel to prove once again why he is regarded as one of the best cricketers in the world.

First Published: Aug 03, 2018 13:23 IST