Virat Kohli recalls 'Very special, important Adelaide Test': Relive the journey-
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Mumbai, July 01: The Indian cricket team captain, Virat Kohli recalled the Adelaide Test during India’s tour of Australia in 2014 stating it "very special and important test". For him, the series, always remain an important milestone for the team.
The Adelaide Test was the first test of the Australian tour in December 2014 when the MS Dhoni was not part of the Indian team at Adelaide due to an injury, and Kohli took the reins as Test captain for the first time.
In that test match, Australia had put up a target of 517/7 in their first innings after batting first when David Warner (145), Steve Smith (162 not out) and Michael Clarke (128) had scored centuries. In India's first innings, India fought back by scoring total 444 with skipper Kohli smashed 115 that made him the fourth Indian to score a hundred on Test captaincy debut whereas there were significant contributions from Cheteshwar Pujara (73), Ajinkya Rahane (62) and Murali Vijay (53).
Australia, in their second innings, scored up 290/5 dec. and set a target of 363 for India. The thrilling part comes here as Aussies managed to dismiss only two batsmen while conceding 205 runs in the first two sessions. They were left with only 158 to protect in at least 37 overs after tea. However, Spinner Lathan Lyon bowled a magic spell dismissing 7 Indian batsmen and Australia claimed the last eight Indian wickets for just 73. Meanwhile, Kohli once again led the team from the front and scored a powerful 141.
"Throwback to this very special and important test in our journey as the test team that we are today. Adelaide 2014 was a game filled with emotion on both sides and an amazing one for people to watch too. Although we didn't cross the line being so close, it taught us that," Kohli said.
(2/2)..anything is possible if we put our mind to it because we committed to doing something which seemed very difficult to begin with but almost pulled it off. All of us committed to it. This will always remain a very important milestone in our journey as a test side. 🇮🇳💙
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) June 30, 2020
"Anything is possible if we put our mind to it because we committed to doing something which seemed very difficult to begin with but almost pulled it off. All of us committed to it. This will always remain a very important milestone in our journey as a test side," he further wrote.
At that time, Kohli noted that his team was looking for a win and not a draw, while also saying that it was "the best Test I have been part of". Kohli's second innings ton was hailed by several Australian commentators as the finest fourth-innings performance they had ever seen in Australia.