5 crucial losses that proved to be turning points in Virat Kohli’s career

#5 Galle Test vs Sri Lanka, 2015

The realisation to score daddy hundreds

After leading India in a couple of matches in Australia and playing out a rain-affected draw against Bangladesh, this was Virat Kohli’s first full consignment as Indian Test skipper as he led his team against the Lankans in the Emerald Island. Just as he was looking to set feet in the large shoes left vacant by Dhoni, other team members were looking to cement their place in what was the start of more than a year of back to back Test match cricket, all of which was to take place in the sub-continent.

Batting first, the home team were bowled out for a paltry 183 as Ashwin picked six on a track that was already assisting the spinners. In response, Indian batsmen made 375 as Dhawan(134) and Kohli(103) joined forces to score centuries and give India a 192 run lead.

After having Sri Lanka tottering at 95/5 in the second innings, India let loose as Dinesh Chandimal played the innings of his lifetime. His unbeaten 162 set India 176 for a win. The target wasn't daunting but the visitors succumbed to the class of Herath who accounted for seven Indian batsmen after going wicketless in the first innings. India fell well short as they lost the match by 48 runs.

The unexpected defeat brought the team together and what unfolded in the next 28 months was champion stuff from the Indians. In the period between August 2015 and December 2017, India, under the leadership of Kohli, won 21 out of their 31 Tests. Their solitary defeat came against the Aussies in Pune.

This golden run in Indian cricket accounted for the routing of Sri Lanka thrice (twice in Sri Lanka and once back home), South Africa, the Windies, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia. The captain Virat turned into a leader as he decimated bowling attacks while he broke record after record.

In this period, the genius batsmen scored close to 3000 runs at an average of 64 and celebrated 11 centuries, 5 of which went on to be double hundreds. He got into this good habit of scoring daddy hundreds, the need for which he first realised in the same Galle Test wherein he lost his wicket just after reaching the three-figure mark.