Virat Kohli is known for his aggression on field and leaves no stone unturned wherever he goes. However, Kohli had a disastrous 2014 series in England. Returning after four years in 2018,now as captain, Kohli had demons to burn and critics to silence as India faced England in the first Test of the five-match series at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Kohli went into the series as an experienced and matured player, tirelessly improving himself ever since the 2014 debacle.
England won the toss and opted to bat at Edgbaston. The visitors managed to restrict the hosts as England posted 287 with the help of Joe Root’s 80 and Jonny Bairstow’s 70. Playing his first innings since 2014, the hostile Edgbaston crowd jeered the visitors, especially whenever Kohli was shown on the screen.
Coming out to bat, India openers Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan held the fort and put on a great defensive show before the first wicket fell at 50/1 in 13.4 overs. KL Rahul was moved up the order and brought on at number three. Rahul opened his innings with a boundary, but in the next delivery, he. was sent back to the pavilion after being bowled out by Sam Curran.
Coming in at number 4 to boos and jeerswas the Indian captain. No other batsman was able to contribute to India’s innings except the captain, who played a fearless and attacking knock, leading by example and takingIndia forward. Despite wickets falling, Kohli was unphased. The skipper took his time, played smart cricket, left unplayable deliveries and hammered when needed.
Kohli went on to notch his 22nd Test century at Edgbaston and celebrated in style,Pure happiness in the form of a roar. After raising his bat while celebrating, Kohli took out his wedding ring around from his neck, kissed it and dedicated his innings to his wife, Anushka Sharma, who was seen applauding the knock.
Kohli did silence his critics on scoring his maiden knock in England and burning the demons from his previous outing in England. In the 2014 series, Kohli scored runs of 1 & 8 (1st Test), 25 & 0 (2nd Test), 39 & 28 (3rd Test), 0 & 7 (4th Test) and 6 & 20 (5th Test). The fiasco was put behind on scoring a fantastic knock in 2018. Kohli went on to score 149 runs, leading India to 274 in the first innings, trailing only by 14 runs.
In the second innings, India bowled excellently to restrict England to 180 as Ishant Sharma claimed a fifer, R Ashwin pickedup three and Umesh Yadav bowled outtwo. The chase looked well for India as 194 was theirs for them to chase. Unfortunately, the tables turned when Ben Stokes came gunning in along with the other pacers. England bowled out India for 162 with once again, Kohli being the high scorer for the visitors with 51. England won the first Test by 31 runs. The hosts went on to win the 2018 series 4-1.
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