2016-19: Four glorious years of Virat Kohli that produced unmatched consistency, aggression and aura

NEW DELHI: Legendary Indian batter Virat Kohli bowed out from Test cricket on Monday after a glittering 14-year, 123-match-long career that will be remembered for his unmatched intensity, passion, and tactical intelligence in Tests and particularly for a very strong prime period which saw him establish plenty of records across the globe.

From 2016 to 2019, it just did not matter what the pitch, opposition, bowler name, conditions, and match situation were. This four-year period saw Virat strutting around with his team, from one corner of the globe to the other, with cockiness backed by numbers and consistency shaped by years of hard work and practice. He carried out a mindset shift in the Indian team, turning them into an absolute box-office unit in all aspects of the game.

During this period, Virat was India’s undisputed champion of Test batting, scoring 4,208 runs in 43 Tests at an average of 66.79 and striking at a brisk rate of 61.88. He managed 16 centuries and 10 fifties, scattered throughout the globe, with the best score of 254*.

His reign of dominance started with a tour to the West Indies in July 2016, managing 251 runs in four innings at an average of 62.75, with a 200 at North Sound being his best knock, wiping out all the trauma of from his debut tour in 2011, where he could score just 76 runs in five innings. A two-match series against Bangladesh at home, when he scored 0 and 136 across two Tests, ended this reign. His majestic 136 at Eden Gardens ended this peak with a bang.

Between these two series, he was an absolute force to be reckoned with at home. Every state, stadium, and pitch was a war zone, and Virat’s men were the soldiers, taking turns at crushing any potential challengers. Teams climbed to the top of the ICC Test Rankings, made runs, took wickets, only to Virat led his team from the front, topping the run-charts with 2,499 runs in 22 Tests at an average of 86.17, scoring 10 centuries and three fifties in 34 innings with a best score of 254*. Pujara sat at number second, scoring 1,990 runs in 24 Tests and 37 innings at an average of 56.85, with five centuries and 14 fifties.

As a captain, he led India to 17 wins in 22 Tests at home, losing just one match and drawing four. After legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, Virat took forward their legacy as India’s most reliable weapon in overseas conditions. Accumulating runs was a walk in the park even in bouncy, swinging, seaming lands like England, Australia, and South Africa. Acclimatising was never an issue for Virat as deliveries worth being punished landed perfectly on the sweetest spot of his bat while his unbreachable defence and judgement of line and length took care of the rest.

In 21 Tests away from home, Virat scored 1,709 runs at an average of 50.26, with six centuries and seven fifties. His best score was 200. At second was his distant rival Cheteshwar Pujara, scoring 1,330 runs in 19 Tests at an average of 44.33, with six centuries and three fifties in 31 innings.

Away from home, Virat led India to 11 wins in 21 Tests, losing seven and drawing three. Under him, India emerged as a much stronger force. From body blows to stunning batting counter-attacks to savage, headline-grabbing banters/sledges, Team India could deliver it all. The definition of aggression was redefined under Virat as it was not limited to cricketing acts, physical, and verbal confrontations; it was a mindset thing.

Virat’s men exhibited different ways of winning, whether through hard-fought, brutal victories against South Africa, England, and Australia or largely one-sided dominance against the West Indies and Sri Lanka.

In the SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries, Virat’s bat roared loudly, mixing elegance, finesse and aggression like never before. During this phase in SENA, he made 1,161 runs in 12 Tests at an average of 50.47, with four centuries and five fifties and the best score of 153.

His 593-run onslaught on England consisting of two centuries and two fifties, a 286-run series against South Africa consisting of a classic, counter-attacking 153 at Centurion and gutsy scores of 54, 41 on a bouncy Johannesburg pitch and 123 against the famed Aussie pace quartet of Cummins-Starc-Hazlewood on a green Perth wicket are some of his highest points of his run.

From 2016-19, Virat’s men improved India’s SENA record. In the years preceding his captaincy run, a SENA win was nothing short of a festivity and a landmark victory per series was celebrated as loudly as a series win. Virat changed that mentality as every time India walked out for a SENA Test, fans did not expect a miracle, but a dominant performance for India. Winning or losing was a matter of sport, but what mattered the most was the belief fans had in the team and the team had in itself.

While India had won just two SENA Tests from January 2010 to December 2014, lost 16, and drew five before Virat took over as full-time captain, Virat improved the record for the better, winning four, losing seven, and drawing one SENA Test from 2016 to 2019. (ANI)