The first Test of India vs Australia 2014-15 turned out to be one of the best Test matches of the recent time. A match that started on a very emotional note, ended in the most aggressive manner as both the team went for a win. Indian captain Virat Kohli played one of the best innings of his Test career, but in a losing cause. It was his partnership with Murali Vijay that began the big run chase and instilled faith in the minds of fans who were only hoping for a draw.
Although, India lost the match, Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay batted brilliantly and showed their teammates that it’s not impossible to bat well in Australia. Virat Kohli also impressed one and all with his aggressive captaincy on the fifth day.
The biggest positive for India in this match for India was Virat Kohli’s aggressive captaincy. Over the years, we have seen Mahendra Singh Dhoni using defensive techniques and laid back approach in Test cricket. Dhoni has received consistent criticism for his defensive captaincy in Test cricket, but he has never changed his style. But, Virat Kohli, in his first Test, played a very aggressive brand of cricket and encouraged his team to go for a win when many believed that draw is the best outcome for Team India. It’s true that Kohli made some mistakes, specially in the bowling department, but the manner in which he handled himself and his team on the fifth day, deserves a lot of praise. Kohli had said before the start of the series that his team is going to play an aggressive brand of cricket, and he delivered exactly what he had promised.
Virat Kohli’s personal form was also a big positive for India. In the series against England, Virat Kohli struggled to put bat to ball and his technique was exposed by James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Kohli, who is said to be the next big thing in Indian cricket after Sachin Tendulkar, worked hard on his game, and now he is only the second batsman to score twin Test hundreds in his first match as captain.
Virat Kohli was well supported by Murali Vijay, who batted for 39 overs and fell agonizingly short of a Test hundred. Vijay batted very patiently and scored 99 runs off 254 balls. Vijay showed a lot of maturity in his shot selection and did really well to negotiate the new ball against the like of Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris.
While all of us are talking about Virat Kohli’s innings, Murali Vijay’s knock deserves equal amount of praise, as it was his partnership with Kohli that began the chase.
These two individual performances will surely inspire Team India to perform better in the rest of the series.
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By The Cricket Lounge
