4 Positives for Team India in the England Series

2. King Kohli’s stupendous performance

Kohli- The undisputed King

King Kohli showed once again to the entire world why he is rated the best batsman in the world.

The talk before the five-match Test series started was how Virat Kohli would fare after a disappointing tour in 2014 where he averaged just 13 in five Tests. Before a ball was even bowled, plenty of focus was on Virat Kohli’s battle with James Anderson who dismissed him four times in that 2014 series.

Kohli made an instant impact in the very first innings of the series when he scored 149 runs off 225 deliveries.

He followed it up with a half-century in the second innings. It seemed Virat Kohli had learned from the mistakes of 2014. He got big strides forward to counter the swing of the England bowlers.

The Lord’s Test was a disaster for the entire team including Kohli. Then came the Third Test at Nottingham where he scored 97 and 103. He had century partnerships with Rahane in the first innings and with Pujara in the second innings. Due to Kohli’s best efforts, India won the third Test and stayed alive in the series.

Kohli scored a total of 200 runs each in both the first and third Test matches of the series. His only failure came in the last innings of the series. To Kohli’s credit, he never got out to Anderson in the entire series.

Kohli finished the series with 593 runs from 10 innings at an average of 59.30. More than the number of runs, it was his willingness to succeed in English conditions that stood out. It was a pity to note that Kohli’s infectious intensity and passion didn’t rub on to the other batsmen in the series.