Top 5 Knocks By Virat Kohli In Test Cricket

Jatin

Virat Kohli retires from Test cricket [Source: @kohliception/x.com]Virat Kohli retires from Test cricket [Source: @kohliception/x.com]

The King has finally put down his sword. After 14 years of grinding it out in whites, Virat Kohli has bid farewell to Test cricket.

With 123 matches, 9230 runs and a legacy that will take some beating, Kohli didn’t just play the longest format, he wore it on his sleeve. Be it fire in the belly, determination on foreign soil or strokeplay that made even legends nod in respect, Kohli delivered it all.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane and look back at Virat Kohli’s best knocks in Test cricket.

5. 153 vs South Africa, Centurion, 2018

Sometimes, greatness isn’t about the scoreboard, it’s about the fight. And Kohli showed plenty of that on a bouncy Centurion track that had Indian batters jumping like cats on a hot tin roof. While the rest of the batting lineup folded like a pack of cards, Kohli stood tall. Literally and metaphorically.

Facing the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel on a deck that offered uneven bounce, Virat stitched 153 off 217 balls, runs that were scored out of sheer willpower. No other Indian batter even crossed 50. But Kohli looked like he was batting on a different wicket.

He pulled, he drove, he flicked and more than anything, he endured. It was pure Test match dogfight. And while India lost the match by 135 runs, Kohli walked out with his chin up, having played one of the finest innings ever seen on South African soil.

4. 235 vs England, Mumbai, 2016

This was Kohli taking a turning track and turning the game on its head. The Wankhede was crumbling by Day 3, but Kohli looked like he was batting in an indoor net session. With India six down and still trailing, Kohli stepped up. He swept spin out of the rough, danced down to loft and punched through covers like he owned the turf.

With just five specialist batters, India needed someone to play big and Kohli didn’t just deliver, he delivered with interest as India scored 600 in response to England’s 400 before bowling out the visitors for 195.

His 235 off 340 balls with 25 fours and 1 six demoralized England. When he was finally dismissed, England were broken. India went on to win by an innings and 36 runs and Kohli’s knock was the main factor in that demolition job.

3. 254* vs South Africa, Pune, 2019

If ever there was a knock that screamed control, this was it. Kohli didn’t just bat, he constructed an innings that choked the life out of South Africa’s bowlers. Coming in at 163/2, he took his time. He got his eye in, settled down and then launched a calculated assault.

Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Philander, none could get past him. Kohli barely broke a sweat and before you knew it, he was bringing up his 7th double century. But this one was special. It was his highest-ever Test score. 254* off 336 balls with 33 boundaries and two sixes, punishing without being reckless, authoritative without showing off.

India declared at 601/5 before bowling South Africa out for 275 and 189 to secure a win by an innings and 137 runs. This was Kohli at his Test peak: methodical, merciless and monumental.

2. 149 vs England, Edgbaston, 2018

Revenge is a dish best served cold and Kohli served it ice cold at Edgbaston. After being humiliated in 2014 by James Anderson and Co., Kohli returned to England four years later with a point to prove. And he did so in grand style.

Walking into boos and jeers on Day 2, Kohli had to deal with a red-hot Anderson bowling 15 probing overs around the lunch break. At one point, Kohli had scored just six runs off 43 balls from Anderson, barely surviving. From there on, it was a masterclass. 

While the second best score was 26, Kohli farmed the strike, marshalled the tail and dragged India from a hole into touching distance of England’s total. India lost the game by 31 runs but his knock of 149 off 225 balls was about character, settling old scores and about making the world take notice. He even pointed to his head after reaching the ton and showed everyone it is not just about talent, it is about temperament.

1. 141 vs Australia, Adelaide, 2014

This was Kohli’s first Test as captain, and boy, did he make a statement. With MS Dhoni out, the baton was passed to a young, aggressive Kohli. What followed was pure theatre in the land of the Baggy Green.

Already having scored a ton in the first innings, Kohli walked in on the final day with India chasing 364. Now, most teams would shut shop and play for a draw. But not Kohli. He went hell for leather, sweeping Nathan Lyon from outside off, pulling Mitchell Johnson with disdain and cover driving like a dream. He scored 141 at a strike rate of over 80 on a crumbling Adelaide pitch.

India came within 60 runs of a historic win vs Australia before Kohli perished. The chase ended there but the message was loud and clear: Kohli wasn’t here to play it safe. He was here to boss Test cricket on his own terms.