On this day in 2014: Kohli led India first time in a Test match, Kohli made his longest format captaincy debut against Australia at Adelaide Oval in the first game of the four-match Test series.
India suffered a 48-run loss in that match and they were chasing 364 and looked to be on course with Murali Vijay and Kohli batting well at one stage. The visitors were cruising but Nathan Lyon provided Australia the crucial breakthrough, dismissing Vijay for 99. After that, the Australian off-spinner simply ripped through the Indian batting line-up, picking 7/152. From being 242/3, India was dismissed for 315.
The match was also the debut for leg-spinner Karn Sharma and remains the only Test match he played.
Kohli scored a ton in both the innings, but David Warner, Michael Clarke, and Steve Smith was among the runs for the Aussies.
India lost the series 2-0 after losing the first two games. However, Kohli only led the country in the first and last match of the series.
This was the series in which MS Dhoni announced his retirement from the longest format of the game after the third Test against Australia in Melbourne.
Kohli has so far led India in 55 Tests just five short of equalling MS Dhoni’s record, who captained the side in 60 red-ball games, the most by any Indian skipper.
Kohli is also the most successful captain for India in the history of the game as the team won 33 games under his captaincy so far.
Last year in September, Kohli surpassed Dhoni to become the most successful Indian Test captain.
After winning the shortest format series 2-1, India will now lock horns in the four-match Test series against Australia which gets underway on December 17. The first match will be a day-night affair and Kohli will head back home after the first Test as he has been granted paternity leave by the BCCI.
Rohit Sharma’s availability for the Test series is also not clear as his fitness will be reassessed on December 11 at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru
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