Captaincy just a ‘c’ in front of your name: Virat Kohli
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Southampton: Indian captain Virat Kohli addresses a pres conference at Southampton, England on June 4, 2019. (Photo: IANS)
Kingston (Jamaica): Virat Kohli, who has become India’s most successful captain in Test cricket, believes the feat he has achieved is a by-product of the quality of the team and the bowlers he has.
On Monday, India registered a thumping 257-run victory against the West Indies in the second Test at the Sabina Park, thereby taking Kohli ahead of former skipper M.S. Dhoni’s record of 27 wins in the longest format of the game. In the 48 Tests under Kohli, India have won 28, lost 10 and drawn another 10.
Dhoni had a win percentage of 45 as captain after winning 27, losing 18 and drawing 15 in 60 matches he led the team. On the other hand, Kohli’s win percentage is 58.33 — the best among all other Indian captains in the format.
Third on the list of most successful Indian captains is Sourav Ganguly who led the team to 21 wins, 13 losses and 15 draws in 49 matches.
“Captaincy is just a ‘c’ in front of your name, honestly. It’s the collective effort that matters,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation. “It’s a by-product of this quality team that we have here, to be honest. If we didn’t have the bowlers that we have, I don’t think the results would have been possible.
“Yes, you can score as many runs as you want, but if you look at these guys running in and putting their heart in…I mean (Mohammed) Shami’s spell today, (Jasprit) Bumrah after having a small niggle, Ishant (Sharma) bowling his heart out, (Ravindra) Jadeja bowling a long spell…
“I don’t think without these bowlers it would have been possible. So I think all the credit has to go to the whole team.”
India’s win in the second Test came in the second session on the fourth day after the West Indies were bundled out for 210 in their chase of 468.
With the clean sweep in the two-match series, the top-ranked team now have 120 points and are currently numero uno in the World Test Championship score board.
Kohli now also holds the record for being the most successful India Test skipper in away matches. The 30-year-old now has 13 away wins as captain in 27 matches, while Ganguly had 11 wins in 28 games.
Published on: Sep 3, 2019 at 10:27 IST
IANS
