Former India head coach Greg Chappell has highlighted Virat Kohli’s greatest Test innings following the star cricketer’s retirement from the longest format of the game. Chappell, in his analysis, found it challenging to single out just one innings from Kohli, as the Indian captain has left a lasting impression with several remarkable performances.
The 76-year-old cricketing legend rated Kohli’s 141 against Australia in Adelaide in 2014 as his top pick out of the best four innings. This particular innings was significant as it marked Kohli’s first Test as captain, taking over the reins from the legendary MS Dhoni during the Australia tour.
In a column penned for ESPNcricinfo, Chappell expressed, “Kohli’s greatest innings have been more than runs – they have been statements. His 141 in Adelaide in 2014, in his first Test as captain, chasing a monumental fourth-innings target, was an early blueprint. The 153 in Centurion (2018), the 200 in the West Indies in 2016, and the exquisite 254 not out at home against South Africa three years later, all told different stories of his abilities.”
Chappell went on to laud Kohli for his immense contributions to Indian cricket, placing him in the same league as Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni. He remarked, “Yes, Tendulkar was a genius. Yes, Dhoni was a master tactician and an ice-cold finisher. But in the grand reckoning of Indian cricket history, Kohli has been its most influential figure.”
The former Australian captain also commended Kohli for his role in keeping Test cricket relevant in a fast-paced T20-dominated era. He added, “He [Kohli] revamped everything: diet, training, mindset. In doing so, Kohli became the blueprint for the modern Indian cricketer – relentlessly professional, obsessively fit, and mentally ironclad.”
Chappell further highlighted Kohli’s evolution, drawing parallels between the cricketer and India itself – confident, global, yet deeply rooted in tradition. Despite achieving global stardom and excelling in white-ball cricket, Kohli never lost sight of his Test ambitions, maintaining a perfect balance between different formats of the game.
Virat Kohli bid farewell to Test cricket with an impressive record of 9230 runs in 123 matches, including 30 centuries, thereby concluding a glittering chapter in his illustrious career.
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