Difficult To Emulate Virat, The Born Leader

Draws were not good enough for Virat Kohli, and this helped him deliver the wins he needed to take India to the top of Test cricket

- Karthik Ravindranath

You look at Virat Kohli and you see energy all the time. And yet, Virat Kohli, when he is batting, is a different entity. He is almost lost in his own perfection.

-Harsha Bhogle, The Test (Amazon Prime Video, 2020)

Kohli’s start in Test cricket, however, was less than perfect. In his first three matches, away against the West Indies in June-July, 2011, he scored only 76 runs (in five innings). This led to him being dropped for the series in England in July-August. Though he was later called up as a replacement for the injured Yuvraj Singh, Kohli did not play in the Test series. But, his form in limited overs cricket got him another shot at Tests later in the year. The West Indies was once again the opposition, but this time at home.

The 23-year-old was competing against Yuvraj for the No 6 position and did not get to play in the first two matches. After India won both and claimed the series, Kohli was given an opportunity in the final Test. He took it, scoring 50s in both innings. The next stop was Australia. In the first Test in Melbourne, in December 2011, Kohli scored 11 and zero, as Australia won by 122 runs. In the second Test in Sydney, in January 2012, it was 23 and nine; Australia won by an innings and 68 runs.