Published 09:59 IST, September 3rd 2019
Kohli surpasses Dhoni,becomes the most successful Indian Test captain
Virat Kohli became India's most successful Test captain after winning the second test match against West Indies giving him his 28th test match victory.
Virat Kohli became India's most successful Test captain after winning the second test match against West Indies. The win gave Kohli his 28th test match victory as a captain, surpassing former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's record of 27 wins. India beat West Indies in the second Test match by 257 runs. India not only scalped the Test series 2-0 but also India completed a clean sweep of the West Indies tour having won the T20I and ODI series as well.
Kohli as the Test captain
Kohli became the captain of India's test side when MS Dhoni retired midway through India's tour of Australia in 2014. He has been leading the way since then. Kohli, who made his test debut for India in West Indies in 2011, he scored 4 runs in the first innings and 15 runs in the second innings. Eight years later, he leaves the Caribbean nation as the most successful Test captain for India.
In the post-match interview, Kohli said, "Captaincy is just a 'c' in front of your name honestly. It's the collective effort that matters. 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". Kohli's record of 28 wins has come in 48 matches as captain, whereas Dhoni took 60 matches to win 27 matches as captain. On the overall list of most successful test captains, Kohli has a long way to go as South African cricketer Graeme Smith has 53 Test wins as a captain. During his tenure as captain, Kohli has also led India to its first-ever series win in Australia earlier this year beating them 2-1.
Dominating test series and the series 'find'
In the second test match, India scored 416 in the first innings and declared at 168 for 4 in the second innings. The home side, on the other hand, could not match Kohli's side as they were bowled out for 117 in the first innings and 210 in the second innings. Hanuma Vihari was given the man of the match award for scoring 111 and 53 in the first and second innings respectively. Kohli was appreciative of Vihari saying, " He looks confident and the dressing-room feels calm when he bats. He's always willing to improve and correcting his mistakes. Plays with a lot of heart. Up to do anything for the team. That's why he invariably plays crucial innings for us. Young career for him so far, but he showed why he's been backed by this team." With the Test series win, India leads the ICC World Test Championship 2019-21 standings with 120 points.
Updated 12:36 IST, September 3rd 2019