3 missed opportunities for Virat Kohli as Test captain

Virat Kohli stepped down from India’s Test captaincy on Saturday, ushering in a new era for the team. The announcement, hot on the heels of the team’s unexpected series loss in South Africa, completes the process of captaincy churn for India in all three formats.

Although he took over in unusual circumstances – with predecessor MS Dhoni retiring from Test cricket midway through India’s tour of Australia in 2014 – Kohli had a remarkable run as Test skipper. He finished as the fourth-most successful captain of all time and as the Indian captain with the most Test wins.

There were some truly memorable moments which India witnessed under Kohli’s reign – a dominant 2016/17 home season, a win in Australia in 2018/19, and an unassailable 2-1 lead in England in 2021, among others.

However, Kohli would rue a few missed opportunities which could have cemented the Indian team as one of the best of all time. Here are three of them.

#3 Series win in New Zealand

Although this achievement would not have been novel for an Indian team, having tasted series wins on two occasions in New Zealand, an overseas series win over the Black Caps eluded Kohli. India did achieve a 5-0 blanking of New Zealand on the tour, including two thrilling Super Overs, but returned empty-handed where the longer formats were concerned.

India were no match for the hosts in Wellington, doing well to avoid an innings defeat – but only just, as they set the hosts a nine-run target. In the second Test, India came back hard to secure a slender first innings lead, only to waste the good work with a 124 all-out in the second innings. India had some relatively new faces in the batting department, but overall could not muster a good enough response to New Zealand’s pace attack in conditions which assisted them.

Incidentally, India’s abysmal showing could be attributed to Kohli himself having one of his worst ever series with the bat, averaging 9.50 personally. The series ended up as India’s only Test whitewash under Kohli.

#2 World Test Championship victory

The ICC introduced the World Test Championship in a two-year cycle from 2019-2021 in a bid to add context and a drive to achieve results in the longest format. Dented by the aforementioned 2-0 loss to New Zealand, India had to pull off something remarkable to reach the final.

After a thoroughly unprecedented turnaround, India overcame a humiliating loss in Adelaide to defeat Australia 2-1 in Australia. A commanding 3-1 win against England then paved the way for the summit clash between India and New Zealand, which was to be played in Southampton.

New Zealand prepared better than India did, with a two-Test series against England to acclimatize to the conditions. The difference was visible in the Test match, in which India’s batting came up short and handed the game to New Zealand, despite the best efforts of the bowling unit.

#1 Series win in South Africa

Possibly the goal which appeared most achievable was a series win in South Africa. Coming off a 2-1 series lead in England and a good showing at home against New Zealand, India looked strong on paper. In contrast, the hosts had several new faces from the last series between the two teams, and were expected to struggle against India’s quality.

KL Rahul’s century and Mohammad Shami’s five-fer in the first Test gave India a historic win at Centurion, with pundits predicting a 3-0 scoreline in favor of the visitors. Captain Dean Elgar then inspired the hosts to fight back, particularly with the bat, as Mohammed Siraj’s injury left India’s bowling weakened. India faltered with the bat in both innings, and despite Shardul Thakur’s sensational seven-fer, South Africa won the match comfortably.

In what turned out to be Kohli’s final Test as captain, India elected to bat first but could muster up only 223, with the skipper leading the way with a defensive masterclass. Rishabh Pant’s daring yet well-compiled hundred in the second innings saved India some blushes, but not another loss en route to an unexpected series defeat.