Virat Kohli. (Photo by RANDY BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)
Star batter Virat Kohli surpassed MS Dhoni in the list of most wins for India as an individual after winning over West Indies in the first Test of the two-match series. Notably, the former World Cup-winning skipper has 295 wins to his name, as his last one came against Sri Lanka in the 2019 ODI World Cup. Virat meanwhile crossed him on July 14 and is now closing in on Sachin Tendulkar, who has won 307 matches for the national team.
Notably, in the first Test against the West Indies, Kohli hit 76 runs on a ground that looked difficult for the batters to settle in. The 34-year-old himself was lucky on quite a few occasions but eventually managed to hit some crucial runs as the visiting team won the match by an innings and 141 runs. After Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill’s dismissal, Virat built a strong partnership with debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal, which proved enough for the team to win the game.
Meanwhile, Virat has faced a lot of criticism over his century draught in the longest format of the game. He is scoring runs on a consistent basis, but unfortunately, the cricketer has failed to convert his starts into a three-digit score. Speaking about the same, India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour stated that he is an aggressive batter and lauded him for having the quality of getting adapted to any situation or condition.
“As a batting coach, I believe that cricket is about adaptability. He is an aggressive player who likes to dominate, but a better player is one who can change his game. A player who can play according to the conditions and team requirements is a better player. This is his biggest quality. He can play different forms differently. He can change his game according to the conditions. He showed it on a wicket that was turning a lot. The way he defended against the left-arm spinner was a lesson for many youngsters,” Rathour said in a video posted by the BCCI.
India started their new World Test Championship cycle in a remarkable fashion and will be aiming to keep up with the form as they would be eager to qualify for yet another final and finally win the coveted trophy.