Numbers that define Virat Kohli's golden period in Test cricket
What's the story
Veteran Indian Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket with immediate effect on May 12.
The announcement came days ahead of India's five-match Test series in England.
One of India's most successful batters, Kohli had been in a downward spiral in Tests. He was way past his prime that spanned from 2014 to 2020.
Here are the numbers which define his golden period.
Captaincy
Era of Kohli's belligerent captaincy
Kohli took over the reins of Team India from MS Dhoni during the 2014/15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under.
He won his first Test series as full-time captain, as India beat Sri Lanka 2-1 away from home.
Between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2019, Kohli led India to 33 wins in 52 Tests. The side lost just nine Tests in this period (Draws: 10).
Runs
Kohli's blade did the talking
Between December 1, 2014 and December 31, 2019, Kohli racked up 5,347 runs at an outstanding average of 63.65 in Test cricket.
Only two other batters scored more runs in this period - Steve Smith (5,629)and Joe Root (5,627).
Kohli recorded as many as 21 centuries, the second-most by any batter in the said time span. He was only behind Smith (22).
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Kohli in winning cause
In the aforementioned time period, Kohli was one of only two players with 3,000-plus Test runs in winning cause. He scored 3,239 runs at 64.78 in this regard. His tally of 11 tons was also the second-most, behind Smith's (15).
Double-centuries
Double-tons galore!
Before July 2016, Kohli was devoid of a double-century in his Test career.
Just over three years later, the Indian batter had seven of them. Such was his brilliance!
Each of Kohli's seven double-tons came while leading India. No other batter has even six double-tons as a designated captain.
West Indies legend Brian Lara follows Kohli on this list with five such scores.
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Double-tons in four successive series
Kohli's maiden Test double-hundred came in July 2016, against West Indies. He touched the 200-run mark in each of his following three series, against New Zealand, England, and Bangladesh. He became the only batter to have scored a double-century in four consecutive Test series.
Invincibles
Invincibles India at home
Under Kohli's leadership, India were invincibles in Tests at home.
Between January 2015 and December 2019, India lost a solitary home Test, against Australia in 2017.
Kohli led India to 20 wins in 26 Tests at home (Draws: 5) in this period.
In November 2019, India won their first-ever Day-Night Test, beating Bangladesh at Eden Gardens.
Kohli scored a historic ton in that match.
Overseas
First-ever Test series win in Australia
While India were unbeatable at home, they tasted considerable success overseas too.
In 2014, Kohli became only the second player to have slammed twin centuries on captaincy debut. He scored 115 and 141 in the Adelaide Test.
On India's next tour Down Under, India won their first-ever Test series in Australia. Kohli became the first Asian captain to win a Test series Down Under.