It was in the year 2014 when MS Dhoni gave his fans startling news of leaving Test cricket midway. It was during this critical phase, Virat Kohli took a bold step and led India proudly in the first Test of the same series when Dhoni had to step back because of his severe injury.
Later in the year 2015, the New Year’s Test was his first as a full-time skipper. Further to that Dhoni did come back and serve as a captain but for only a few years particularly for shorter formats in ODIs and T20Is. There is no doubt in the fact that Dhoni was one of the most efficient captains India had ever seen. However, in the year 2017, Kohli successfully became India’s captain in all three formats.
The Indian cricket team as always continued to shine under the captaincy of Virat Kohli and their consistency became better with time. Today, we all know that MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli are the finest Indian cricketers who have proved their competency and caliber with their breathless performance.
We, at CricketBettingTips.io, bring to you a list of five most popular milestones that India could achieve under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. Continue to read on! You are sure to be awestruck!
Test series win in Australia
The Indian Cricket team has been traveling to Australia for quite some time ever since 1947-48 and has played 11 Test series there before 2018-19. Unfortunately, India has never gained victory in any of the series to date. There were a number of drawn series but a series win never just happened. Not just series win, India never won a test match either. Nevertheless, India did win five Test matches, with three of them before their 1983 World Cup win.
Further, Sourav Ganguly did come close to a series win in the year 2003-04 but eventually failed. It was Virat Kohli and his team who stood out and beat Australia 2-1 and created history. They broke a 71-year-old record by becoming the first-ever Indian and Asian team to beat Australia in a Test series in Australia. Earlier, India beat Australia in the first Test in Adelaide. They did drop a Test in Perth but came back well to win again at the MCG which gave India a memorable 2-1 series win.
This is indeed a momentous record for the Indian cricket team which no other team could do despite tremendous efforts.
ODI series win in South Africa
Did you know? India was the first team to tour South Africa in the year 1992. However, India was never successful in beating the South Africa team in any of the Test series. Until the year 2018, India couldn’t win a single ODI series with South Africa, even when MS Dhoni led the Indian team. In early 2011, they lost the series 3-2 and three-match series later in the year 2013.
But when Virat Kohli took over, the Indian team bet 5-1 in a six-match ODI series. Kohli then became the first Indian skipper to lead the team to an ODI series win in South Africa.
T20I series win against New Zealand
If there is one record worth taking note of, it is India’s T20 record against New Zealand. It was nearly for a decade or so that India just couldn’t beat the Kiwis in T20Is. Even in the 2016 World T20 group, India lost against New Zealand in vain.
But things changed drastically when Virat Kohli became the captain. The Indian team not only won a T20I against New Zealand, but they also bagged a couple of T20I series away. In the year 2017, India won its first-ever T20I against the Kiwis at the Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi.
Test series win in Sri Lanka
India and Srilanka have played numerous cricket matches over the years against each other. India does have a good record against Sri Lanka, but unfortunately, they have not won a single Test series in Sri Lanka for 23 long years to be very precise.
After winning the series in 1993, India failed to win despite various attempts. It was under the MS Dhoni captainship that India traveled to the island nation in 2010 for a three-match series. They lost the first Test match but soon came back with great vigor to win the next one. But the third Test ended in a draw.
However, when Virat Kohli took up the captaincy, India again lost the first Test. But they soon came back strongly and took the series 2-1. India won in some tough conditions. In the year 2017, India beat Sri Lanka 3-0 for the first time in Sri Lanka.
Bilateral ODI series win in Australia
India’s CB tri-series win under MS Dhoni in 2007-08 was truly noteworthy. It was India’s biggest ODI victory. India broke the record and proved that they are a strong team with a wise captain. However, apart from a Test win, the only glitch under Dhoni in Australia was the absence of a bilateral ODI series win.
India played just one ODI bilateral series with the Ranchi team in early 2016. They lost that series 1-4 but they did play well. India competed in every game and even challenged Australia but just couldn’t make it up.
It was Virat Kohli who led India to their first-ever bilateral ODI series win in Australia. The ‘Men in Blue’ lost the first game at first but did not give up and came back in the next two. They beat Australia 2-1 to cap off which was a historic win in 2018-19.
Closing thoughts
From the above series that Kohli led and succeeded, we can easily conclude that he was definitely a man of action. Kholi’s efforts, perseverance and ‘never give up attitude’ makes him one of the most successful and able cricketers of India today. What say?
