Virat Kohli announcing his retirement from Test cricket feels surreal. In addition to Virat holding the title as one of the greatest ODI players of all time, millions of passionate fans also watched him go about his business in the whites for over a decade.
One of the advocates of the format, Kohli produced a wonderful Test career spanning 14 years. He finishes with 9,230 runs – the fourth-most ever for India – with 31 hundreds at an eyecatching conversion rate of better than 50%. While the final few years were lean, his legacy both as a Test batter and captain will be remembered for years to come.
Along the way, Virat produced jawdropping performances, with his most noteworthy coming in difficult conditions away from home. As both a leader and fab four superstar, Kohli drove India’s belief that they could not only compete, but win in foreign conditions.
Virat Kohli’s best innings in Test cricket? A look at his top 5
It is a difficult ask narrowing down the list of best Test knocks by Virat Kohli to just five. In this article, I will justify why these innings make the list by taking into consideration the match context and difficulty in conditions, with some honourable mentions at the end as well.
5. 235 vs England, Mumbai, 2016
India found themselves six down and trailing England’s 400 by 93 runs. By the time Virat Kohli was dismissed, India were 215 ahead and on track to hand England another innings defeat despite scoring 400+.
Kohli’s 235 at Wankhede Stadium was the Indian captain at his masterful best. On a surface offering spin, Virat had no fear in sweeping and driving out of the rough. With every shot, England’s hopes faded further, as Kohli combined with Jayant Yadav (104) to put on 241 runs for the eighth wicket and completely flatten the visitors.
Transforming a difficult position into a winning one was a hallmark of Kohli’s career, and this innings was one of the standout examples. India bowled England out for 195 second time around to win by an innings and 36 runs.
4. 153 vs South Africa, Centurion, 2018
Virat Kohli’s effort in the 2018 series in South Africa was one of the highlights of his Test career. His 54 and 41 on a Johannesburg minefield was testament to just how good he was at the time. Earlier in that series, Kohli struck a masterful 153 out of India’s first innings score of 307 on a difficult Centurion pitch to keep them in the contest.
Leading by 31, South Africa fell to 3/2 in the second innings. However, a fighting Dean Elgar knock and AB de Villiers masterclass left India needing a tough target of 287 to win. India fell short, but the fact there was even a contest is credit to Virat, whose 153 at a strike rate of 70.50 against Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada embodied a player at the peak of his powers.
3. 123 vs Australia, Perth, 2018
If you tell me that this is Virat Kohli’s best innings in Test cricket, I wouldn’t argue. The first-ever Test at Optus Stadium in Perth was a difficult one for the batters, with helmets struck, fingers broken and endless blows on bodies. Plus, there was sharp spin, with Nathan Lyon producing a player-of-the-match performance.
In response to a fighting 326 by Australia that seemed above par, Virat stood tall after India lost two early wickets. The then-Indian captain led from the front, biding his time and pouncing on anything in his arc. His masterful 123 was the only century from either side.
“Superb knock from the master,” said Allan Border on commentary. “Probably one of his best.” And how right he was.
2. 149 vs England, Edgbaston, 2018
The spotlight was well and truly on Virat heading into the 2018 series in England. His 2014 series was a nightmare, exposed regularly outside the offstump as James Anderson had the better of him. All eyes were on the Indian captain to see how he would respond.
There were no prizes for guessing that Anderson would be employed to test Kohli early. The great England bowler delivered one of the more challenging examinations of Kohli’s temperament, with the typically freeflowing batsman facing 41 dots out of 43 balls against Anderson on day two.
Anderson eventually created a chance that Dawid Malan dropped with Kohli on just 21. From there, the Indian captain didn’t look back, finding his groove as he took control of India’s innings. He scored more than half of India’s 274, taking the game to a shootout which England managed to win by just 31 runs thanks to Sam Curran and Ben Stokes producing clutch performances.
1. 141 vs Australia, Adelaide, 2014
The 2014/15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy saw signs of an Indian side willing to take Australia head on in contrast to their meek surrender of 2011/12. Virat Kohli led the way, starting off with an incredible twin-ton effort to kick off the series in Adelaide.
In an attempt to win, Australia declared to leave India needing 364 to win on the final day. The general consensus was that either a draw or an Australian win were the only realistic results. However, by the time the afternoon came, India were favourites.
Kohli combined with Murali Vijay (99) for a 185-run stand that had India believing. Vijay’s wicket sparked the fall of regular wickets thereon, with India going from 242/2 to 304/6. Despite that, India were in the box seat as long as Kohli was there.
Kohli was magnificent. On a pitch offering sharp spin, Virat used the crease to perfection, driving and pulling his way to a masterful 141. However, one mistimed pull led to his downfall on the 175th delivery he faced, finding deep midwicket that put the match in Australia’s hands.
There is bound to be other quality knocks that don’t quite make the top five.
Kohli’s 169 against Australia in Melbourne in 2014 was another example of how India were going to stand up to the Aussies. He successfully took on Mitchell Johnson, who tormented England a year earlier, scoring 68 off 73 balls against the left-arm fast bowler in that innings.
Virat’s 119 and 96 against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2013 was a performance to remember. His first innings century was key in getting India to 280 on a pitch offering asssistance against a world class Proteas attack. Then, his second innings 96 was one of the drivers in India reaching 421 and setting South Africa 458 to win. In the end, it was a thrilling draw.
His 104* against Sri Lanka in Kolkata in 2017 was another cracker. On a green pitch, Kohli built on the foundation set by the openers as India started their second innings trailing by 122. His unbeaten 104 came as just one of the remaining six batters reached double figures. The knock was vital in ensuring Sri Lanka faced a tough target of 231, which they were on track to fall well short of as bad light ended the Test with the visitors 75/7.
