Wickets were tumbling at one hand, with two falling at the score of 100 as India stared at another humiliating defeat in England. And that is when Virat Kohli stood up. He had seen both Ajinkya Rahane and Dinesh Karthik perish without a run on board and that was enough.
Kohli opened the face of his bat to guide a Jimmy Anderson delivery into the boundary and never lost hope even as Hardik Pandya returned back after stitching a 48-run partnership with the Indian captain. Kohli will go on to register his 22nd Test century but first one in England. It was a master class innings of 149 from 225 balls.
The knock earned him plaudits from fans and pundits across the world, yet the man himself doesn’t believe to be his finest innings.
“I don’t know, this would probably come second to Adelaide. The Adelaide knock remains very special to me because it was in the second innings and we were chasing a target (364). I had total clarity that we were going for the target and not once did I think that I will not go for the chase,” said the Indian skipper in an interview with BCCI ahead of the start of third day’s play.
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The century in Adelaide was Kohli’s first as a Test captain. He had already scored 115 in the first innings as India posted 444 in response to Australia’s 517 batting first. The hosts then set a target of 364 and India had 98 overs to achieve the target.
Most teams, let alone the captain would have been happy to settle for a draw, but not Kohli. He led the chase with a brilliant 141 and although India eventually lost the Test by 48 runs, it was an indication of greater things to come in the future.
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It was a similar situation at Edgbaston, with Kohli once again holding firm while others fell from the other end. He was dropped twice and made England pay for it with a scintillating ton, falling just one run short of another 150. With India six wickets down and only Ravichandran Ashwin left before the tail-enders, the Indian captain added 126 runs with Shami, Ishant and Umesh Yadav.
“I have to commend the tail as well. Hardik batted well after we lose five wickets and the way Umesh and Ishant applied themselves, I think it was an outstanding effort from them also and I have to give a lot of credit to them to get us so close because they stuck in there and they gave me the support,” he said.
He was however disappointed for not being able to take the lead. Kohli was the last wicket to fall after he had added 182 for the final two wickets. He although felt it would have been better had India taken even a small-run lead.
“It was not only about getting to the three-figure mark but to continue from there on. I was very disappointed when I got out because we could have taken a 10-15 run lead. But in hindsight, we would not have been able to bowl at them. I am just happy with my preparation and not worried about the world,” added the Indian skipper.