×

The Virat Kohli-led India’s journey to No.1 Test spot amidst the hullabaloo

It is a pity that speculations over future of a long home season for India surfaced on the same day the team climbed to the top spot.

Related articles

LIVE Cricket Score, india vs New Zealand, india vs New Zealand live score, ind vs nz 2nd test, ind vs nz live score, india vs New Zealand live streaming, India Vs New Zealand Highlights, India Zealand Kolkata
In 16 Tests under Virat Kohli, India have won 9 and lost only 2 © AFP

The loss to Australia in the ICC World Cup 2015 semi-final had left the fans heartbroken. A dream and a dream run of six consecutive wins came to a halt at Sydney. As the Men in Blue divided themselves in separate colours for the IPL 8, ICC came out with the latest Test rankings. India, who had reached the pinnacle spot in 2009-10, had slumped to the seventh spot, a point below Sri Lanka. A year and half later, a new India under a new captain Virat Kohli climbed back to the top spot. This time the reign promises to be longer. It is unfortunate that the joyous news has been hampered by the speculations of cancellation of the ongoing series against New Zealand due to freezing of bank accounts.

India beat New Zealand by 178 runs to win the second Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata to seal the series as well as rise to the No. 1 spot in ICC Test rankings. The last time India claimed the spot was in August 2016. Australia, the then No. 1 Test side were whitewashed 0-3 by Sri Lanka. Kohli and co. then touring West Indies had to win the final Test to retain the spot. A washout in the last Test at North Sound and a Pakistan win over England at The Oval ensured the archrivals had claimed the spot. Kohli was honest enough to admit that certain aspects are beyond control. But now in midst of a long home season, Kohli feels the control lies in India’s hand.

“Our objective is to keep playing consistent cricket, having rankings and getting to number one and dropping it is not in our hands, but with this long season, it’s in our control in my opinion,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

[read-also]531801[/read-also]

Kohli was appointed the full-time Test skipper in January 2015. Later that month the Supreme Court (SC) appointed the Lodha panel to cleanse BCCI, Indian cricket’s governing body. As bans and recommendations kept flowing from one end, Kohli’s side remained unperturbed and began their journey to the cricket’s most coveted position — the No.1 spot in the ICC Test ranking.

It is a pity that speculations over future of a long home season for India surfaced on the same day the team climbed to the top spot. A high point achieved during the possible lowest ebb. For now let us focus on the rise.

The slump

In 2011, India had one of their greatest cricketing moments when MS Dhoni‘s India won the World Cup. Already the No. 1 side in Test cricket, India were expected to excel in England and Australia. The downfall began when India, one up in a series against a weak West Indies side, refused to go for a win in the final Test at Dominica. Despite being in the driver’s seat India settled for a draw when an overseas Test win lurked around the corner.

Dhoni was chastised by the media. The writing was on the wall that this side did not ‘deserve to carry the No. 1 tag.’ The series, however, marked the near-unnoticed Test debut of Kohli, the man who later went on to pin the tag yet again on Team India.

Unimaginative leadership and ageing warhorses led to the fall of the Indian giants who had served them so well in the previous decades. India were whitewashed 0-4 in England and Australia. Two years later they lost series in South Africa, New Zealand and again in England and Australia.

The first defeat in England meant they lost their No. 1 crown to the hosts. India remained tigers at home but even then England beat them 2-1 at home in 2012-13. In fact, India’s last series win against England was in the previous decade, back in 2008-09.

LIVE Cricket Score, india vs New Zealand, india vs New Zealand live score, ind vs nz 2nd test, ind vs nz live score, india vs New Zealand live streaming, India Vs New Zealand Highlights, India Zealand Kolkata
MS Dhoni’s men suffered two whitewashes. First, 0-4 in England and then 0-4 in Australia. The defeat in England resulted in losing their No.1 spot © Getty Images

During this period, the greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan phased out. The shock came when Dhoni announced his retirement from Tests in middle of the Australia tour in 2014-15.

India’s highest point at home came in 2012-13 when they whitewashed the visiting Australians 4-0. That high was soon followed by a low in the IPL 2013 when a spot-fixing controversy surfaced, which opened the Pandora’s Box. Worse, the then BCCI President’s son-in-law was convicted.

New chapter

LIVE Cricket Score, india vs New Zealand, india vs New Zealand live score, ind vs nz 2nd test, ind vs nz live score, india vs New Zealand live streaming, India Vs New Zealand Highlights, India Zealand Kolkata
Virat Kohli’s twin hundred in his maiden Test as skipper almost saw India pull off a thriller against Australia in an emotionally charged-up Adelaide Test © Getty Images

In Dhoni’s absence due to injury, Kohli had led in the emotional Adelaide Test of 2014 that had to be rescheduled post the tragic demise of Phillip Hughes. Kohli’s twin tons had almost won India the Test, the match they went on to lose by 48 runs. The match was not won but he won hearts — with aggression, intent and valour. Dhoni retired after the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne. Kohli led the side to a draw in the final Test at Sydney. India lost the series 0-2.

Kohli era

As captain Kohli was already two Tests old, but the tour of Bangladesh in June 2015 marked his full-time captaincy stint. In a bold move, he recalled Harbhajan Singh in the side to aid Ravichandran Ashwin. The veteran off-spinner had not played a Test in two years but Kohli had his reasons.

Bangladesh were stacked with many left-handed batsmen, therefore Kohli felt the need to attack with two off-spinners. The tie was affected by rain and ended in a draw though India had the upper hand.

Conquering Sri Lanka after a 22-year hiatus

Surprisingly, India have seldom managed to dominate Sri Lanka at home. The Sanath Jayasuriya mauling of 1997 is still afresh especially for someone like me who grew up in the 1990s. In 2001, under Sourav Ganguly, an injury-plagued Indian side lost a series 1-2 in Sri Lanka. In 2008, Anil Kumble‘s men suffered similar fate when Ajantha Mendis flattened them. Dhoni’s men managed to draw level in 2010 courtesy a brilliant fourth-innings hundred from Laxman.

The first 2 Tests of the 2015 series was set to be the last 2 of Kumar Sangakkara‘s career. India dominated the 1st Test at Galle but Dinesh Chandimal played the innings of his career to bring hosts back into the game. Sri Lanka further struck India’s Achilles Heel by employing quality spin. Chasing 176, India folded up for 112 with the ever-dependable Rangana Herath claiming a 7-for.

LIVE Cricket Score, india vs New Zealand, india vs New Zealand live score, ind vs nz 2nd test, ind vs nz live score, india vs New Zealand live streaming, India Vs New Zealand Highlights, India Zealand Kolkata
Kohli’s men spoiled Sanga’s farewell party and clinched the series 2-1, registering a series win after 22 long years © AFP

Despite being under pressure, Kohli’s men proved to be the party-pooper in Sanga’s farewell Test. India won both the Colombo Tests to register a victory in Sri Lanka after 22 years. The win in the final Test came on a lively wicket courtesy a defiant hundred by Cheteshwar Pujara (he carried his bat through the innings) and a spirited spell from Ishant Sharma, two men, who were sort of fighting to save their Test career.

Ravichandran Ashwin was awarded the Player of the Series, then the fourth time in his career. This was just the beginning of the brighter days to come.

Taming the No.1

Sri Lanka were in a rebuilding phase and perhaps the victories registered there were overlooked by many. The hype was around the Freedom Trophy between two extremely popular sides — India and South Africa. The T20I and ODI series belonged to South Africa. Now came the Tests, a format where South Africa were ranked No.1.

[read-also]531788[/read-also]

Adding to that credential, they had not lost a Test series outside home in 9 years. Playing in India was always going to be a challenge but this line-up had an AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy. The bowling battery was aptly stacked with Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Kyle Abbott, Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir. South Africa had challenged India hard in their previous two tours where India had to play the catch-up and level the series. In fact, the last time India had beaten South Africa in a Test series, home or away, was back in 2004-05.

Kohli’s young India had a task. South African spinners caught Indians in the spin web at Mohali but Indian triumphed courtesy their superior spinners. Ashwin partnered with Ravindra Jadeja to ensure India prevailed in the low-scoring affair. The pitch was criticised for favouring spin but both teams had the equal opportunity.

India dominated the Day One of the Bengaluru Test, which was AB’s 100th. The South African master prevailed but a batting collapse saw India cruising towards further domination before rain affected their progress.

Then came the infamous Nagpur Test, a surface termed ‘diabolical’ by Glenn Maxwell and rated ‘poor’ by the ICC. The wicket assisted spinners very early on. The highest score in the Test was 40. Murali Vijay had the honours. Ashwin picked 12 wickets as India cruised to a 124-run win. This meant South Africa had lost outside home for the first time in 9 years.

Adding another win in Delhi, the Test best remembered for Ajinkya Rahane‘s twin tons and South Africa’s valiant fourth-innings blockathon, India completed a 3-0 sweep against a champion side. This boosted India’s ranking. Ashwin grabbed his fifth Player of the Series award.

LIVE Cricket Score, india vs New Zealand, india vs New Zealand live score, ind vs nz 2nd test, ind vs nz live score, india vs New Zealand live streaming, India Vs New Zealand Highlights, India Zealand Kolkata
India beat South Africa in the four Tests series by 3-0 at home in 2015 © AFP

In January 2016, South Africa lost a home series to England and helped India climb to the No. 1 spot for a short while but Australia soon seized the opportunity and grabbed it via series wins against West Indies and then in New Zealand.

[read-also]531772[/read-also]

There was a long season of T20 cricket that followed. India did not play a Test till July. The oppositions were a struggling West Indies outfit. However, it was their backyard and not many of Kohli’s men had the experience of playing there. Anil Kumble came in as the new coach. The expected results followed. India won the first Test at Antigua courtesy Kohli’s maiden double-hundred. West Indies fought back well to win to save the Jamaica Test and dominate a good part of the St Lucia Test.

It was a partnership from Wriddhiman Saha and Ashwin that bailed India out of deep waters. Later, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, making a comeback, picked a six-for to down the hosts. For the first time India had won 2 Tests in a series in West Indies. Had the final Test been complete, India would have stayed longer at the top spot but rain gods had other plans. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s win at The Oval Test meant they had drawn level 1-1 against England. The No. 1 baton passed to them.

LIVE Cricket Score, india vs New Zealand, india vs New Zealand live score, ind vs nz 2nd test, ind vs nz live score, india vs New Zealand live streaming, India Vs New Zealand Highlights, India Zealand Kolkata
It was Ashwin’s series. He scored 235 runs at 58.75 and claimed 17 wickets at 23.17 © AFP

However, this did not stop Ashwin from winning his sixth Player of the Series Trophy. He scored runs aplenty and took wickets at will. In only 36 Tests, he had surpassed Tendulkar and Sehwag’s record of 5 such awards.

Under Kohli’s leadership Ashwin has averaged 29.15 with bat and 19.36 with ball. For Jadeja, the corresponding numbers read 27 and 14.11 respectively. It is safe to say that these men have architected India’s renaissance under Kohli.

The big moment

India were expected to steamroll the touring Kiwis at Kanpur at the momentous occasion of the 500th Test. New Zealand, known for their grit, triumphed over major sessions on the opening two days but Jadeja-Ashwin pair revived India’s fortunes as they pulled off a win.

India were perhaps a bit fortunate that New Zealand were without their skipper Kane Williamson and Tim Southee in the 2nd Test at Kolkata. This was another momentous occasion, India’s 250th Test at home. New Zealand had their moments but India clearly showed they were the better side. The Test saw a team contribution with Saha stepping up to another level. Seldom have we seen players getting Player of the Match for wicketkeeping, Saha did but his willow backed him too. He registered two fighting half-centuries in the Test to deny New Zealand any advantage.

LIVE Cricket Score, india vs New Zealand, india vs New Zealand live score, ind vs nz 2nd test, ind vs nz live score, india vs New Zealand live streaming, India Vs New Zealand Highlights, India Zealand Kolkata
Wriddhiman Saha remained unbeaten in both the innings of the Test by scoring 54* and 58* © AFP

It was quite fitting that India rose to the top with a win at the iconic Eden Gardens, no less, the venue that has hosted most Tests in India and is considered among the three most special venues in the world besides Lord’s and MCG.

Agreed, Kohli and co. have not been tested in challenging overseas tours but with a long home season coming up, it seems the ranking will stick to them for a while. It is time to rejoice this moment. Kohli has now led the side in 16 Tests, winning 9 and losing just 2.

[read-also]531770,531767[/read-also]

While we keep talking about the overseas wins, India’s dominance at home cannot be overlooked. They have now won 11 out of their last 12 home Tests; had the Bengaluru Test not been a washout, it may have been 12 out of 12. The competition between the top 4 sides is too tight at the moment. India play two of them at home this season.

In 2000, when fans had lost trust in the sport due to the match-fixing controversy, Sourav Ganguly’s men restored the faith by playing a competitive brand of cricket. Dhoni’s India won the Champions Trophy in 2013 at a time when IPL spot-fixing was at the centre stage. With BCCI shaken now, how Kohli’s men going ahead with the job, focusing on cricket, will test his character.

Let us keep the BCCI-SC uncertainty away for a while. If the Kohli-Kumble think-tank can formulate a strategy to craft overseas wins on a consistent, India stand a chance to be a force in Test cricket for a long time.

(Suvajit Mustafi consumes cricket for lunch, fiction for dinner and munches numerous other snacks throughout the day. Yes, a jack of several trades, all Suvajit dreamt of was being India’s World Cup winning skipper but ended up being a sports writer, author, screenwriter, director, copywriter, graphic designer, sports marketer, strategist, entrepreneur, philosopher and traveller. Donning so many hats, it’s cricket which gives him the ultimate high and where he finds solace. He can be followed at @RibsGully and rivu7)

trending this week