Virat Kohli was one of India’s most successful ODI captains. His record was right up there with the world’s best. Virat Kohli has the highest win percentage among Indian captains who led for more than 40 games.
He led the ODI side in 95 matches winning 65 of them. But the failure to win an ICC trophy brought an abrupt end to his captaincy journey. His stint was marked with great success.
We look at 5 of the most memorable ODI Wins Under Kohli’s leadership:
#5 5-0 whitewash on Sri Lankan soil
India had suffered a shock defeat against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final in 2017. The fans and experts alike tore apart the Indian team for what was just a defeat in aberration. India went on to tour Sri Lanka immediately post the loss.
The Kohli-led side went on a rampage against the home team. India registered a whitewash across all 3 formats. They won the Test series 3-0, ODI series 5-0, and even ended up winning the one-off T20I game. But the most telling dominance was India’s showing in the ODI format. India looked like a side possessed.
#4 World Cup wins over Australia and Pakistan in 2019
India entered the ODI World Cup 2019 as one of the pre-tournament favourites. They started the tournament on a brilliant note winning against South Africa. India’s next two matches were against Australia and Pakistan. The pressure was immense on the Indian side heading into these contests. India put clinical shows against both the former world champions. These wins helped India to eventually top the table.
#3 First ever bilateral series win in Australia
India had never won an ODI series in Australia prior to the 2018-19 tour. Their best result was a Tri-series win in 2007-08. India lost the first game of the 3-match series. They had to win both their remaining games to win the series.
India won both the ODIs and in stunning style. They chased down 300 runs in the 2nd ODI while they chased down 230 odd total in the 3rd to clinch the series. The series win remains one of the most underrated achievements of Kohli’s ODI captaincy era.
#2 5-1 series win over South Africa in South Africa
India were trounced 2-0 the last time they toured South Africa in 2013-14. MS Dhoni was India’s captain then. In 2017-18, it was captain Kohli at the helm. Kohli led from the front as only he could, smashing 558 runs in 6 games. He was flat-out brilliant throughout the series.
India won the 6-match series 5-1. This was not just the first instance of an Indian team winning in South Africa but also the margin was unbelievable.
#1 Epic run chase against England in Pune, 2017
MS Dhoni stepped down from white-ball captaincy ahead of England’s white-ball tour to India. Virat Kohli was appointed India’s full-time captain across formats. His first assignment then was to take on the number 1 ODI side in the world in a 3-match series. Batting first, England posted a mammoth 350. India were down in the dumps at one point in the chase. Their score read 63-4.
This is when the new captain joined forces with Kedar Jadhav to hunt down the score in some style. Kohli notched up yet another hundred. India fought fire with fire in the run-chase. The Kohli era was set in stone right there!
