A look at Virat Kohli's legacy as Test captain, a decade after 2014 Adelaide masterclass which started it all
Virat Kohli took to the field as the Test captain for the first time ever during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, marking a start of perhaps country's golden period in Test cricket, which witnessed plenty of records broken, on-field confrontations and aggression and the long-format cricket at its very best, which marked a massive paradigm shift in the way India played its cricket in white clothing.
The first Test against Australia at Adelaide Oval saw a 25-year-old donning the captain's blazer for the first time ever, due to MS Dhoni's unavailability due to an injury.
The young Indian rising star, under fire following a poor tour of England, which saw him struggle against the mighty swing of legendary James Anderson and Stuart Broad and score just 134 runs in 10 innings across five Tests, had something to prove when he landed on Australian shores. That he belonged in the whites and his previous Test tons, including ones in New Zealand and South Africa, were not a fluke.
Already an established player in white-ball set-up, Virat was out there to prove that he could hang out with the best in the most difficult conditions.
In the first Test itself, Virat got that opportunity and grabbed it by its throat, smashing twin centuries, 115 and 141 during the match.
While the first one helped India reach 444 in reply to Australia's first innings total of 517 runs, his well compiled 141 in 175 balls, with 16 fours and a six was a statement during a 364-run chase during the final day of the match. A statement that Virat would not be just happy with saving face and shaking hands after a draw, but he would take it upon himself to scrape out a win for his team.
