India vs England: Decoding Kohli's performance in Tests since 2019
Team India skipper Virat Kohli managed 11 and 72 in the recently concluded first Test against England. However, his heroics in the second innings wasn't enough as England cruised to a 227-run win. Kohli, who last scored a Test ton against Bangladesh in 2019, hasn't been firing of late. His captaincy record has also suffered a dip. We analyze the way forward for Kohli.
Kohli has lost the last four Test matches as captain
Under Kohli's leadership, Team India has lost four successive matches. India were beaten 2-0 by New Zealand earlier in 2020. They lost by 10 and seven wickets respectively. The third defeat came against Australia in the first Test at Adelaide in December. The match saw India record their lowest score in Tests (36/9). And now, they lost the first Test against England in Chennai.
A look at Kohli's show in these four Test matches
In the two-Test series against New Zealand, Kohli managed scores of 2, 19, 3, and 14. He averaged just 9.5 in the series. In the Day-Night Test against Australia, Kohli got scores of 74 and 4. And now against England, he tallied 11 and 72 runs respectively. Overall, he averages 24.87 in these four Tests with two fifties.
Since 2019, Kohli has managed two century-plus scores
Kohli's last Test century came against Bangladesh in the historic Day-Night Test in Kolkata. He scored 136 runs in that knock. In the first Test against Bangladesh, he had managed a duck. Since the start of 2019, Kohli has played 12 Tests. He has managed just two tons with a best of 254*, besides registering four fifties.
His overall record against England and performance at home
In 20 Tests against England, Kohli has accumulated 1,653 runs at an average of 48.61. He has registered five centuries and six fifties. On home soil, Kohli has amassed 926 runs at 66.14. He has a total of three hundreds and three fifties.
What is the way forward for Kohli?
India need to win the series against England by a 2-1 or 3-1 margin in order to qualify for the ICC World Test Championship final. India cannot afford to lose another match. Kohli's importance will be more than ever now. He needs to grind it out in the middle and get a big score. He is one knock away from maintaining the consistency.
