5 times Virat Kohli shut down his critics with stellar performances
Virat Kohli has been the talk of the town ever since his debut, but of late for the wrong reasons. Not having scored a century since 2019, Kohli's desire to be successful has been questioned by many fans as well as those in the cricketing fraternity.
However, this isn't the first time that Virat Kohli has been criticized. More often than not, the 33-year-old has let his bat do the talking or has aired his views whenever someone has commented on his batting.
Indian fans will be hoping that Kohli finds his inner fire again and shuts down those who think that he is perhaps past his prime. On that note, let's take a look at five instances when the former Indian captain silenced his naysayers with the bat:
#5 Crucial 73 in a virtual knockout against Gujarat Titans
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had a terrific start to their IPL 2022 season, winning five out of their first seven games. However, things took a turn for the worse and they found themselves in a must-win situation against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in their last league game.
Virat Kohli had endured a terrible season until then, and many questioned whether he should even be a part of the playing XI for the virtual knockout game. However, he scored an incredible 73(54) and ensured that RCB won the game by eight wickets.
In an interview with Danish Sait posted on RCB's Twitter handle, Virat Kohli opened up on how he shuts out the outside noise. He said he believed no one could understand the hard work he has done to get to the level he is at.
His 73 has certainly made a statement that Virat Kohli is nowhere near finished and that could just be the fire needed to keep him going.
#4 "Let the bat do the talking" celebration after his century in Perth
There it is! The King @imVkohli brings up a brilliant hundred in Perth! #India #Kohli #ViratKohli #Cricket
LIVE: bit.ly/2EmVyXU https://t.co/tjFNZskT1P
There was a lot of talk about how India would fare in the 2018/19 Border Gavaskar Trophy as they hadn't won a series until then on Australian soil. Virat Kohli had claimed that he wanted to build a team that would win away from home too.
So although India won the first Test in Adelaide, Kohli was criticized by many for his failures with the bat. It was important for the-then Indian captain to come up with a response and he did so in some style.
On perhaps the most difficult wicket to bat on in Australia (Perth), Virat Kohli scored a magnificent century. The ton had everything in it as Kohli first absorbed the pressure of the new-ball burst and then counter-attacked whenever he got the opportunity.
His "let the bat do the talking" celebration has become immortal as he showed why he is probably one of the best batters in the world.
#3 Virat Kohli's first Test ton at Edgbaston
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Take a bow, #KingKohli.
#TeamIndia Captain @imVkohli announces his arrival in the series. Scores his first hundred in England.
#ENGvIND https://t.co/mHTnDaw5Qr
For any subcontinent batter, how he fares in England goes a long way in determining whether he is great because of the conditions there. Although Virat Kohli scored runs in almost every other condition, his failure in England in 2014 was not forgotten by many.
Just 134 runs in 10 innings meant that when Kohli returned to the English shores in 2018, all eyes were on him and how he was going to face the menacing James Anderson.
But Virat Kohli worked on his technique and shut all his critics down with an incredible ton in the very first Test at Edgbaston. He scored another hundred at Trent Bridge and wasn't dismissed even once by Anderson in the entire series.
With his performances, Kohli finally buried the ghosts of England and also silenced those who claimed he was highly vulnerable in swinging conditions.
#2 Virat Kohli taking down Mitchell Johnson & Australia at Melbourne
After Kohli's disastrous tour of England in 2014, his next big assignment was the tour Down Under in 2014-15. Here, he also became India's next Test captain as MS Dhoni retired from the longest format after the Sydney Test.
Kohli had a sensational series as he scored four hundreds in four Tests and although India lost 2-0, his performance is still rated as one of the best ever by a visiting batter. However, his most dominating hundred would arguably be the one in Melbourne.
The Indian star was under the pump right from the get-go after being hit on the helmet by Mitchell Johnson in Adelaide. But in Melbourne, Kohli took Johnson apart and had many fiery conversations with him on the field.
At the end of the day's play, he revealed in a press conference that a number of Aussies were having a go at him on the field, but he didn't mind it as that brought the best out of him. It was perhaps a fitting reply from Kohli to show he wasn't someone who would get bogged down by the infamous Aussie sledging.
#1 Virat Kohli's special maiden Test century
I would still drop VVS & get rohit in for next test.Makes long term sense. give virat 1 more test..just to be sure he does not belong here.
Long before Kohli became almost indispensable in Tests, there were questions about him being a red-ball batter. Having made his Test debut in 2011, Kohli didn't have a great series against the West Indies.
The talented Rohit Sharma was waiting in the wings and many believed he should be India's next No. 6 in Tests. But Dhoni backed Kohli on the 2011-12 Australian tour at that position.
After the first three Tests, many cricket experts, including Sanjay Manjrekar, said that Kohli doesn't belong at the Test level. However, the young man from Delhi proved everyone wrong and scored a dream century in Adelaide. That hundred changed his career completely as he went on to become one of the modern day greats.