Tale Of Two Captains: Deep-Rooted Joe And A Virat Disappointment

When was the last time Virat Kohli scored a Test century?

— It was way back in November 2019, that too, against a weak Bangladesh team.

What’s the Indian captain’s average in his last 14 Tests since he hit an unbeaten 254 against South Africa in October 2019?

— An ordinary 28.04 in 22 innings, with 1 century and 4 fifties.

What is his tally in the first 3 Tests of the current series versus England?

— Just 124 runs in 5 innings, with a solitary half century.

The undisputed king of batting across all three formats not so long ago, Kohli is clearly struggling in the longest format — the one which matters to him the most.

Kohli is not the only one who is short on runs against England. Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, the other pillars of India’s batting line-up over the last 6-7 years, have been remarkably inconsistent as well. But it’s Kohli’s form that is of bigger concern as India look to bounce back from a demoralizing innings defeat in the third Test at Leeds.

As captain of the ship, he can command respect if he leads from the front and sets an example. His aggressive leadership, where he can get under the skin of the rivals with a mix of intimidation and sledging, does work at times — like it did at Lord’s in the second Test when India bowled out England in 51 overs on the final day to script an unlikely win. But his primary role is to score runs and do justice to the tag of being the best batsman in the team.

His opposite number Joe Root has been doing just that. Roundly criticized for losing the plot with some bizarre tactics against tailenders Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami on the final morning of the Lord’s Test, Root acknowledged his mistake and continued with his job of piling up the runs.

With a century in each of the first three Tests and a staggering 507 runs at a mind-blowing average of 126.75, Root has carried the England batting on his shoulders in this series.

Both Root and Kohli have faced high-quality pace attacks, but the difference in the way they have tackled the bowlers couldn’t have been more striking.

While the England captain has rarely looked in trouble at the crease, the Team India skipper has been vulnerable against the moving ball.

All his five dismissals in the ongoing series have been to catches behind the wicket – thrice to ’keeper Jos Buttler and twice to Root at first slip. James Anderson (twice), Ollie Robinson (twice) and Sam Curran (once) have kept probing on or around the off stump, and found the edge of Kohli’s bat when he either pushed hard at the ball without covering the swing or tried to defend.

Any batsman worth his salt aspires to perform well in challenging English conditions, where the ball can seam and/or swing all through the day. Like most other great batsmen, Kohli has had his share of success and failure in England. From the disastrous 2014 tour when he managed a mere 134 runs in 10 innings to the series in 2018 when he aggregated 583 runs in 5 Tests, Kohli has been through the highs and lows.

The ghosts of 2014 seemed to be returning at times this summer. But two more Tests are still to be played in the current series, which is nicely poised at 1-1. Both teams have everything to play for at The Oval in London (from September 2) and Old Trafford, Manchester (from September 10).

India’s hopes of achieving back-to-back series wins in Australia and England for the first time in their Test history will largely depend on how Kohli, the batsman, performs.

Can he sort out his off-stump weakness and play a couple of match-defining knocks befitting his stature?

We’ll get the answer over the next fortnight.