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Virat Kohli's India Made The Greatest Comeback On English Soil From 2-0 Down

Virat Kohli won the Player of the Match award at the Trent Bridge in 2018 [X]Virat Kohli won the Player of the Match award at the Trent Bridge in 2018 [X]

India were 2-0 down when they arrive at Trent Bridge for the third Test of the India tour of England 2018. The team was under pressure and the captain needed to stand up and lead the team from the front. Virat Kohli did exactly this and rose to the occasion to play two brilliant knocks and put his team in the driver's seat. 

Virat set up the tone for India in the first innings

India batted first in this game and were in a bit of trouble after losing two quick wickets, when Virat Kohli came to bat. He played a gutsy knock of 97 runs from 152 deliveries and stabilised the innings for India with a 159-run partnership with Ajinkya Rahane (81 off 131). The visitors were able to post a total of 329 in their first innings, courtesy of the two batters. 

Hardik Pandya dominated India's bowling show as he picked up five wickets for 28 runs in his six overs and played a major role in restricting the English team to just 161. India had a lead of 168 runs going into the second innings and the team was determined to make this count. 

Virat Kohli played one of the best knocks by an Indian captain in the second innings

In India's second dig at the match, Kohli delivered another masterclass and scored 103 off 197 deliveries. This time he struck a 100 plus partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara (72 off 208) and took the Indian total to 352 before they declaring the innings. India set a target of 521 runs for the English team in the fourth innings. 

The home team showed better resilience in the second innings. Carried by a 106 off 176 by Jos Buttler and 62 off 187 by Ben Stokes they posted 317 but lost the game by a massive 203 runs margin. This time Jasprit Bumrah starred with ball to pick up five wickets for 85 runs in his 29 overs.

It was one of the greatest performances by an Indian team on English soil. With the win in this game India made comeback in the series to reduce the margin to 2-1. However, India failed to hold onto the crucial moments in the next two games and thus ended up losing the series by a 4-1 margin.