OTD | Virat Kohli played his last Test as captain against South Africa in 2022

Virat Kohli had a remarkable journey as India’s Test captain after MS Dhoni stepped down from captaincy in mid series against Australia back in 2014. When Dhoni passed on the baton to the young Kohli, little did anybody know that India would become one of the best Test playing nations in the world. The right-hand batter scored tons of runs after getting the team’s responsibility, he even fought for his teammates, when needed. 

Kohli is a prolific batter and it’s proved by the numbers of runs he has scored all around the world. Similarly, he proved to be the best Test captain of India by beating Australia in Australia and England in England. Under his captaincy, India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy thrice. It was just amazing as to how things worked out for the team under his captaincy. Talking about his retirement, Kohli played his last game as Test captain in 2022 against South Africa, where India lost the series 2-1. As the series was tied,1-1, until the last game, which the hosts won, leaving India in dismay. 

It was captain Kohli’s decision to bat first after winning the toss. However, it backfired as India could only score 223 runs in the first innings. Kohli scored 79 runs off 201 balls, hitting 12 boundaries and one six. Apart from him, Cheteshwar Pujara scored 43 runs off 77 balls. No other batter could score runs, which is why the total was quite low. Kagiso Rabada claimed a four wicket haul for South Africa. 

However, the game became even more interesting when the Proteas were dismissed for 210 runs, leaving 13 runs for India as a lead. Jasprit Bumrah claimed a fifer, giving India the breakthrough. Despite Rishabh Pant’s blistering century in the second innings, India managed to put up just 212 runs as the target for South Africa. Surprisingly, Keegan Petersen scored 82 runs off 113 balls, helping South Africa clinch the series. In less than 24 hours from the game, Virat Kohli stepped down as India’s Test captain, passing on the baton to Rohit Sharma. 

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