Does Kohli's Stupendous Run As Skipper On Home Soil Overshadow His Mediocre Track Record Abroad?

Virat Kohli leapfrogged MS Dhoni as India's most successful skipper in the longest format and his superlative win loss record (33 in 55 Tests) is certainly among the best in world cricket. However, the stark reality is that India's only major notable win on overseas soil has been their maiden series win over Australia (2-1 in 2018) in 70 years.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 07: Virat Kohli of India kisses the BorderGavaskar Trophy as he celebrates India's 2-1 series win after day five of the Fourth Test match in the series between Australia and India at Sydney Cricket Ground on January 07, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jenny Evans/Getty Images)

Undefeated in 7 Tests across 3 Test series in the newly conceptualized ICC Test Championships, Virat Kohli-led Indian team started 2020 atop the standings as the runaway leaders from the rest of the pack. 

A record breaking 2018/18 domestic season in red ball cricket which saw the team clinch 5 successive series on the trot catapulted India as an impregnable force and the undisputed No.1 side in red ball cricket.  Such was the winning juggernaut of the Indian team that comparisons with all-time great Windies and Australian teams of yesteryear's certainly flattered the die hard fans and became major talking point in the international cricketing arena.

Amid all the excitement and jubilation over India's stellar success under Virat Kohli's captaincy, many forgot that nine out of those 14 series wins had come on home soil.

Not taking away any credit from the India's fairy tale run in Test cricket, the sub continent team has tasted a major chunk of its success on home soil , where conditions have always been ideally suited to their game plan and conducive to their core strengths.

Photo: AFP Virat Kohli leapfrogged MS Dhoni as India's most successful skipper in the longest format and his superlative win loss record (33 in 55 Tests) is certainly among the best in world cricket. However, the stark reality is that India's only major notable win on overseas soil has been their maiden series win over Australia (2-1 in 2018) in 70 years.

One ought to remember that the Aussies were without their batting Warner and Smith in that series. Kohli's overseas assignments against formidable opponents have resulted in losses to South Africa (1-2 in 17/18), England (1-4 in 2018) and Australia (0-1 in 2015) and the latest being handed a series whitewash by Kiwis (0-2) A breakdown of Kohli's Test captaincy record makes the picture more clear. While his domestic track record as Indian skipper is overwhelming with a staggering 76.9 win percentage (20 Wins in 26 Tests), his win ratio (13 wins in 29 Tests) certainly takes a massive drop (45%) while captaining the team abroad .

Virat Kohli

Off Kohli's 13 overseas wins as skipper, 9 have come against weaker opponents in  Sri Lanka (5) and the West Indies (4) at a time when both those sides were languishing at the bottom of the Test rankings. Only 4 wins have come against the much famed SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia). The much talked about Indian batting order which plundered runs on docile batting tracks in the home leg of the Test season was much at sea against a potent Kiwis attack which exposed the chinks in their armour. On the seam friendly tracks with a tinge of green at Wellington and Christchruch, the Indian top order was found wanting against both the swing and seam of Boult, Southee, Jamieson and Wagner. India's first Test series whitewash in over 8 years was largely triggered due to a major batting collapse in both the Test matches. Apart from the one-off fifties from Rahane and Pujara, the Indian top order fared dismally. While skipper Kohli who looked woefully out of form, had one of his worst tours with willow, the ever dependable Pujara was also rather lackluster by his usually consistent performances. Rishabh Pant was once again short on runs and neither did all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari contribute meaningfully .Young openers Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw showed flashes of brilliance with some eye catching starts at the top but still need to hone their skills in the art of occupying the crease and making their starts count. The Indian bowling was certainly the brighter aspect of the team's performance with some fiery spells of seam bowling by Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami which had the Kiwis on the backfoot during certain phases of both the Tests. However, the pace attack struggled to maintain the pressure on the Kiwis batting on a sustainable basis which their counterparts from the opposition did with relative success. India's weakness to clean up the opposition tail after making inroads into the top and middle order once again came to the fore and back-fired badly on the team's overall performance. To be hailed among the all time great teams in Test cricket , India would need to show its pedigree against quality oppositions in their backyard apart from exerting their supremacy on home soil.It could only be possible if the batsmen can put up daunting totals on the board to give the bowlers a real chance to have a go at the opposition. With New Zealand leapfrogging to No.3 position after inflicting a series whitewash over the Indians and the Australians also very much in the mix, the race to the top in the ICC World Test Championship has certainly opened up and the Indians have a real task up their sleeves to maintain their No.1 spot  when they take on formidable oppositions like Australia on their backyard later in the year.