There have been better tactical Test captains than Kohli in Indian cricket but seldom has anyone been this dogged in approach and so ambitious in vision.The most heartwarming thing about India’s triumph in Australia is that it seemed a logical and expected culmination of a year in which the team has journeyed far. There were three overseas Test tours in the last 12 months: South Africa, England, and now Australia. The team took baby steps in South Africa by winning a Test and though they lost the series in England mid-year, the overwhelming feeling was that it was an opportunity lost. There was hurt and disappointment — hurt, because it seemed they were the better team and yet let their chances slip. It was in this backdrop that they came to Australia.
There have been better tactical Test captains than Kohli in Indian cricket but seldom has anyone been this dogged in approach and so ambitious in vision. The cricketing fraternity was almost up in arms against some of the decisions he took but Kohli, along with coach Ravi Shastri, soldiered on regardless. Players like Kohli almost thrive on being attacked and criticised — they perform at their best when they feel the world is coming after them.
Looked through another prism, this team was filled with players who did not need to be forcefully dragged along, but were itching to make a mark of their own. Cheteshwar Pujara knew he was good but the results on the ground, especially overseas, weren’t that good. The pace attack, too, had to deliver for different reasons: Jasprit Bumrah, to prove that he wasn’t just a T20 player; Mohammad Shami, to prove that he has left his off-field troubles behind and remains a contender; Ishant Sharma had to show that the investment of years on him wasn’t a waste. That someone like Bhuvneshwar Kumar has hardly played a couple of overseas Tests this year says much. R Ashwin started off well in both the opening Tests in England and Australia but India showed they had back-up once his fitness tapered off. When Wriddhiman Saha was injured, India went through Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Kartik before they settled on Rishabh Pant who it seems is here to stay. When they struggled to find openers, Mayank Agarwal stepped up. It’s been that kind of a year — where one fell, another has risen.
