It was the Border Gavaskar trophy of 2014-15. After already losing the test series in the first three matches, team India was tattered and down and the major announcement was yet to come.
MS Dhoni, announced a sudden retirement with a match to go in the series. All this was bound to bring the team’s morale to a new low. But a boy stepped up, Virat Kohli, now a man and the most successful test captain around the globe.
In his first ever test match as captain Virat went after a highly unlikely chase. Although India ended up losing that match but it was the sign of the things to follow.
Here are the 5 things that prove Virat Kohli is the best test Captain India ever had:
1) The truckloads of achievement no one has ever had before.
Virat Kohli after taking the captaincy realm has become the first Indian captain to win a test series in Sri Lanka after 28 long years.
He also is the only Indian captain to lift the test mace for three years in a row. Defeating Australia in Australian and becoming the first captain to whitewash South Africa are just some more feathers to add to Virat Kohli’s legacy.
2) The aggressive approach of Virat Kohli.
Whether you agree or not, Virat’s aggressive nature has paid dividends for him, not only in his batting but also in his captaincy.
Among all the Indian captains Virat has enforced the follow on most no. of times (8). This style of captaincy ensures that the opposition is under pressure all the times and the team already has a mental edge over their opponents.
3) Leading from the front with the bat.
As a captain, Virat leads by example. He scores runs in most difficult times. The statement is very well backed by the numbers as Virat has scored 7 double centuries after becoming the captain, the most by any captain in the world.
He also has scores of 150+ in Australia, South Africa and England.
4) The emergence of pacers under Virat Kohli.
This is indeed the biggest achievement of Virat. Under him, the Indian pace attack of Bumrah, Shami, Ishant and Umesh has improved so much.
Virat has always backed his Pacers, not only overseas but also in home conditions. Indian Pacers have always out bowled their counterparts.
The growth of pacers under Virat Kohli has paved way for team India to go and win overseas.
5) The big and thriving victories.
Team India under Virat completely dominates their opponents. There are no half measures, when the team is on top, they stay on top.
This reflects in team India’s humongous victories as the lowest margin by which they have won at home is 75 runs. See for recent example the victories over SA.
Look at the other captains in world cricket, Faf Du Plessis, Joe Root, Kane Williamson, Tim Paine. Virat really stands among them.
Team India has stayed on the top of the world test rankings for quite some time now and due credit must be given to Virat Kohli for taking India to such big heights not only as a batsman but also as a leader.
