When MS Dhoni retired from Test cricket, he not only left a huge void in the team as a player but also as a captain. His successor Virat Kohli had a difficult task on his hands but he has performed it brilliantly till now. A historical overseas win against the Sri Lankan team provided a perfect start to his Test match captaincy career and he has successfully carried on from there.
India thrashed South Africa in the home conditions thereafter and then registered another overseas win against the West Indies. They also look all set to win against the Kiwis after a convincing win in the first Test.
There have been various reasons behind the success of Virat Kohli - the Test captain. Some of those reasons include his own strategies while the others revolve around the brilliance shown by his teammates. So let’s see the five reasons that why Virat Kohli has got off to a great start as captain.
#1 Bowlers have picked up 20 wickets consistently
A Test team can only be successful when its bowlers are able to consistently pick up 20 wickets. India has been successful in the last year under Kohli’s captaincy due to the consistently brilliant display of bowling. Sri Lanka, South Africa and now more recently West Indies were restricted to low totals throughout the series by the Indian bowlers which allowed them to win the matches.
India’s bowling in this period has revolved around the spin triplet of Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, and Ravindra Jadeja. The three spin wizards have consistently spun a web around the batsmen and made the task extremely difficult for the opposition team. The seamers have also chipped in with useful contributions from time to time.
Bowling has been India’s Achilles heel in the past and it is a great sight to see the bowlers perform brilliantly under Kohli’s captaincy. It will be great for the Indian side if the brilliant performance from the bowlers continue in the future.
#2 Ashwin has been brilliant as an allrounder
Ravichandran Ashwin has always been a valuable bowler for the Indian team but he has improved leaps and bounds as an allrounder under Kohli’s captaincy. Kohli has shown immense faith in him by promoting him to number six in the batting order and he has fulfilled the trust by his performances. His hundred against the West Indies recently is a testimony to the fact that the trust shown upon him by Kohli is justified.
Ashwin has picked up 89 wickets in 14 Tests at an incredible average of 18.94 under Kohli’s captaincy and he has also scored 523 runs at an average of 30.76. Considering the tough pitches against Sri Lanka and South Africa, an average of 30.76 is an impressive one for the off-spinner. Kohli is lucky to have a genuine allrounder like Ashwin in his team and he has utilized him well in his captaincy.
#3 Attacking strategies by Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli’s shrewd tactics have also been instrumental in his success as a captain. India has traditionally been a team known for playing with 4 bowlers but he came in and changed this strategy by playing with five bowlers. The strategy allowed the team to pick up 20 wickets and thereby win the games.
He has backed Rohit Sharma as a Test match player due to his match winning abilities and though this tactic is yet to yield positive results but it is a testimony to the attacking mentality of the new Indian Test captain.
His fielding positions have been more proactive rather than reactive which have resulted in picking up wickets at crucial junctures and unlike many other modern day captains, he hasn’t allowed the games to drift away when nothing happens. The overall attacking mentality by Virat Kohli has generated immense confidence in the Indian team which is visible in their performances.
#4 Playing in either home or favorable conditions
With all the due credit given to the Indian team for its brilliant performances, one factor that is also to be considered is the favorable conditions that India has played in the last year. Sri Lankan conditions were spin friendly barring a Test match and then India hosted South Africa again in extremely spin-friendly conditions and the West Indian conditions presently are not really alien to the Indians.
The favorable conditions have played a big part in Kohli’s initial success as a Test match captain and although his strategies have been brilliant but it will be interesting to see how Kohli captains in challenging conditions like South Africa, Australia, and England. The real test of Kohli- the captain will happen when his team will be under extreme pressure in conditions that don’t suit them.
#5 Brilliant form of Virat Kohli and other batsmen
Indian team has played in favorable conditions under Kohli’s captaincy but they have been more bowler friendly rather than batsman friendly. The pitches against South Africa were as close to ‘dust bowls’ as any other pitches in the recent past and the conditions in Sri Lanka and West Indies were also far from being batsman friendly.The Indian batsmen have still performed brilliantly in these matches.
Ajinkya Rahane has averaged 50.31 under Kohli’s captaincy while Murali Vijay has averaged a staggering 51.37. Kohli himself has been in brilliant form as a batsman since he has become the captain and has averaged 51.04 in these 15 Test matches. The success of these main pillars of Indian batting has been instrumental in providing a head start to Kohli’s captaincy career.
Also when a captain is performing well as a player, it gets reflected in his captaincy and the same has happened with Kohli and he has been brilliant as a captain.
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