Virat Kohli Birthday: Top 5 victories for India under Kohli in Tests

#2 Sri Lanka vs India, Colombo (RPS), 2015

Ajinkya Rahane got 126 and added crucial runs with Murali Vijay

India 393 and 325/8d beat Sri Lanka 306 and 134 by 278 runs

In Kohli’s first major assignment after taking over the Test leadership, India lost the first Test embarrassingly after dominating almost the entire match. Come the second game, KL Rahul and Kohli eased India’s nerves by stitching together 164 for the third wicket. Rahul got his second Test hundred – both were away from home – and Kohli, 78, following which Rohit Sharma, 79, and Wriddhiman Saha, 56, took India to 393 with Rangana Herath picking up four.

On a flat deck, Sri Lanka stuttered to lose their last seven wickets for only 65 on the board. Captain Angelo Mathews hit 102, aided by fifties from Kaushal Silva and Lahiru Thirimanne but wrist-spinner Amit Mishra’s 4/43 gave India an essential 87-run lead.

This time India responded through Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay. The former hit 126 while the latter fell for 82 with almost all of the others getting off to starts but none of them converting. Dhammika Prasad and Tharindu Kaushal split eight wickets between them as India declared at 325 and asked Sri Lanka to chase 413 in an intriguing encounter on a spin-friendly track.

With the off-spin-leg-spin duo of Ravi Ashwin and Mishra preventing the hosts from getting off to a stable start, all India needed were 44 overs to bundle them out for 134. Ashwin got another five-for with India spoiling the legend Kumar Sangakkara’s farewell Test.