We all know that Virat Kohli is the future captain of India. There is no doubt that Virat Kohli is the one who will take charge when MS Dhoni decides to hang his boots. In the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka, Virat Kohli was the stand-in captain in the absence of MS Dhoni. Although, a home series that too against a weak Sri Lankan side is not the right parameter to judge Kohli’s captaincy, Kohli received a lot of praise for his captaincy and many including India’s former captain Sourav Ganguly were very impressed with the way Virat Kohli led his team.
The ODI series between India and Sri Lanka turned out to be a completely one-sided affair, as India won all the five matches very comfortably. This was Virat Kohli’s first home series as the captain of India and he couldn’t have wished for a better start. Apart from the 5-0 whitewash, there were lots of good performances by some of the young members of the Team India, and as a captain, this will be a very satisfying experience for Virat Kohli. Although, the real test of an Indian captain is when they travel overseas, Virat Kohli made some brilliant decisions in regards to team selection and his tactics in the middle.
Let’s look at some of the good decisions made by Virat Kohli during the five-match ODI series:
– This series was an ideal series to test the bench-strength before the Australia tour and the all-important World Cup, and Virat Kohli did exactly the same by giving lots of opportunities to the young players, and also to those who are trying to make a comeback. Virat Kohli, who usually bats at No. 3 in ODIs, dropped himself down the order at No. 4 and promoted Ambati Rayudu at No. 3. Rayudu responded well to this call and scored a brilliant century in the second ODI of the series. Rayudu also scored a good fifty in the fifth ODI. This will give Rayudu a lot of self-belief and if he is selected for the Australia tour, he will have the backing of an ODI hundred and this will give him a lot of confidence. Virat also showed immense faith in Axar Patel and gave him a chance ahead of Ravindra Jadeja in the all the five matches of the series. Just like Rayudu, Axar also responded well to the confidence showed by his captain and bowled brilliantly through the series.
– Virat Kohli also gave opportunities to Stuart Binny, Robin Uthappa and Kedar Jadhav, to showcase their talent. Virat even gave the new ball to Stuart Binny, as Binny’s biggest strength is to swing the ball. Kedar Jadhav, who is a prolific run-scorer in the domestic circuit, made his debut in the fifth ODI. Although, Jadhav and Uthappa didn’t make any significant contribution with the bat, but Virat Kohli gave them the opportunity in the middle which will encourage them to performer better in future.
All in all, it was a very good series for Team India, and Virat Kohli in particular. Kohli not only led India to a 5-0 victory, he also made some very big and valuable contribution with his bat. This speaks a lot about his temperament and the ability to handle the pressure. It would be fair to say that Indian have already found their future captain and the future of Indian cricket is in safe hands.
FOLLOW THE CRICKET LOUNGE’S COVERAGE OF INDIA vs AUSTRALIA 2014-15 HERE
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By The Cricket Lounge
