Australia have not beaten India home or away in a Test series since the 2014/15 tour Down Under. Since the 2014–15 visit, Australia has not defeated India in a Test series, either at home or abroad. The Australians, who are now led by Pat Cummins, will try to make amends in the five-match series that begins next Friday. Mitchell Johnson, a former pacer who was a member of the final Australian team to defeat India, has given his former adversary Virat Kohli credit for permanently changing Indian cricket. Johnson believes that one of Kohli’s greatest qualities is his confrontational demeanor.
“I recall learning about Virat Kohli before I even laid eyes on him when he initially entered the scene. Even though we all knew that no one could ever replace Sachin Tendulkar, many claimed he was the next one. Despite certain parallels, the two Indian legends I had the good fortune to play against in all formats were completely different from one another. I found that Kohli’s willingness to fight was the one that most impressed me right away. In his piece for The West Australian, Johnson writes.
“At the time, we had seldom ever seen an Indian player exhibit that level of aggression. Although other Indian players may have occasionally displayed confrontational behavior, Kohli truly incorporated it into his style of play. It’s not an understatement to say that Kohli transformed Indian cricket by teaching a new generation of players how to play difficult cricket, while he also brought his team along.”
Even though Australia won the four-match series 2-0, Johnson noted that in the 2014–15 series against India, Kohli scored most of the goals.
Johnson said that he and Kohli had a personal rivalry, but he relished every second of their arguments.
“I heard that a young Kohli would encourage his teammates to work harder during training, especially during fielding exercises, towards the conclusion of Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag’s careers. He would encourage those around him to improve by training as he played. Despite his demands, Kohli is the kind of player you want on your squad because he always has your back, which is crucial in team sports. In 2014–15, my final Australian summer before I resigned from international cricket the following November, I saw a change in the Indian team I faced.
Australia triumphed 2-0 in four Test matches that summer, marking the last time the Australians won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but they remained competitive and sure they could defeat us at home. Kohli and I had a well-known personal rivalry. On the field, we interacted a lot, and I liked it,” Johnson said.
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