Virat Kohli's Test legacy in Australia: A journey through triumphs
What's the story
One of India's most revered Test cricketers, Virat Kohli, has hung his boots from red-ball cricket.
Hence, India's 2024-25 Test tour of Australia turned out to be his final Test assignment.
His last series may not have lived up to the expectations, but his record in Australia is nothing short of exceptional.
Here we decode his phenomenal Test record in Australia.
Numbers
Most Test tons by an Asian batter in Australia
As per ESPNcricinfo, Kohli's tally of seven Test tons in Australia is the joint-second most for a visiting batter. He stands par with England's Wally Hammond.
Jack Hobbs, another Englishman, tops this list with nine hundreds. Across 18 Tests on Australian soil, Kohli scored 1,542 runs at 46.72.
This includes seven centuries and four half-centuries with a best score of 169.
Among Indians, only the legendary Sachin Tendulkar (1,809) has scored more Test runs Down Under.
Australian legacy
Maiden Test hundred in Australia
Kohli's Test journey in Australia started with the 2011-12 series where he scored his maiden Test hundred in Adelaide.
He played a 116-run knock in the final Test of the series.
He smashed 300 runs across eight innings in that series at 37.50 - the most for an Indian (100: 1, 50: 1).
Notably, he was the only Indian centurion in that series as the visitors suffered a humiliating 0-4 defeat.
Captaincy debut
Twin tons on Test captaincy debut
India's 2014-15 Test series Down Under will remain a golden highlight of Kohli's career.
The opening game in Adelaide marked Kohli's Test captaincy debut, and the batter celebrated the same with twin centuries (115 and 141).
He thus became the first Indian captain to slam twin tons on their Test captaincy debut.
Chasing a tough 364-run target in their fourth innings, India lost by just 48 runs as Kohli led the team from the front.
Historic series
The memorable 2014-15 series
As mentioned, Kohli was on a roll in the 2014-15 series in Australia.
He smashed 692 runs in four games at 86.50, the third-most for an Indian in a Test series.
The tally includes four tons, the joint-most for an Indian in a Test series, besides a fifty.
Kohli stands fifth on the list among visiting batters with the most runs in a Test series Down Under.
Meanwhile, India suffered a 0-2 defeat in that series.
Triumph
A historic series win in 2018-19
Kohli scripted history in the 2018-19 tour of Australia, becoming the first Asian skipper to record a Test series win Down Under.
India clinched the four-match affair 2-1 as Kohli scored 282 runs across four matches at 40.29 (100: 1, 50: 1).
Meanwhile, India replicated their heroics in the 2020-21 Australia tour, recording a Test series win by the same margin.
However, Kohli only played the opening game in that series.
2020-21
Solitary apperance in 2020-21
Though India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by winning the 2020-21 series Down Under by 2-1, Kohli participated only in the opening game due to the birth of his first child.
He recorded scores worth 74 & 4 in the pink-ball Adelaide Test, which India lost by eight wickets.
Notably, this game marked India's lowest Test total to date - 36/10.
Final chapter
Kohli's final Australian tour: A challenging chapter
Kohli's last Test tour of Australia in 2024/25 was a difficult one.
Under Rohit Sharma's captaincy, India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (3-1) for the first time in a decade.
Kohli had a tough time in the series, scoring only 190 runs in nine innings at an average of just 23.75. Notably, he scored a hundred in the opening game.
Despite this disappointing end to his career Down Under, Kohli's contributions to Indian cricket remain monumental and undeniable.