New Delhi: When Virat Kohli was entrusted with a task of leading an in experienced Team India against mighty Australia on their soil after regular captain MS Dhoni was ruled out for the opener due to injury, not many really believed he would come out with flying colours as a stand in captain because he had a more difficult task that to prove himself as good and reliable batsman as he has been on Indian soil.
There were doubts….there were apprehensions. He proved all that wrong. He helped his captaincy by scoring back to back centuries thus became the only player after Greg Chappell to smash hundreds in each innings of his debut Test as captain.
Virat Kohli, on his debut as Test captain, has led the side from the front. India lost first test of four game series but Kohli certainly won friends and admirers. Disappointment was writ large on the faces of Indian fans not because India lost but because the defeat robbed Kohli of a rare victory he deserved. Rarely has a defeat evoked so much sympathy for a captain.
And Kohli was so right when he said had we (him and Murali) stayed till the end the result could have been different and that draw was never in his scheme of things.
If only some of his colleagues had stood with him like Murali Vijay did, India would have pulled off a sensational victory, with a handful of overs to spare, scoring at close to four runs an over.
Australians are known for playing for victory in the true Australian grit. Kohli was no less adventurous in accepting the challenge. He, instead of adopting a safety-first policy by going for a draw on a batsman-unfriendly fifth day pitch, adopted an aggressive approach that was meant only for a win. He was severe on Nathan Lyon who was getting all possible help from the fifth day wicket and who eventually became the main destroyer of Indian batting line up.
After the fourth day's play, Indian experts who happen to be the distinguished former Test cricketers discussed the prospects of India playing to draw the series. However one of the guests former Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden did not agree with them and instead chided them for not looking at a possible India victory.
