ICC World Test Championship: How well did the 'Fab Four' perform in their first series
After the completion of an exciting World Cup, the top nine ranked Test teams got ready for another global championship for Test match supremacy. Unlike ODIs and T20Is, Test cricket did not have a World Cup or Championship. But after ICC' green-lighted it, the top nine ranked Test team are now battling it out against each other in the ICC World Test Championship 2019-21.
The Test Championship began after the end of the Men's ODI Cricket World Cup 2019 and the inaugural match was played between England and Australia (The Ashes). Since then, six teams have played out their first series of the Championship - England, Australia, India, West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. We also witnessed some cracking matches in the Championship so far.
With this Test Championship, the 'Fab Four' of modern-day cricket - Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Joe Root came out to muscle their supremacy in the field. All of the four have so far played their respective series. Let's take a look at how the 'Fab Four' have performed so far in the ICC World Test Championship.
#1. Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli, undoubtedly, is a modern-day great. The India captain has proved his mettle time and again and has been consistent enough to shatter records after records.
After India's loss in the semi-finals of the World Cup, Kohli aimed to begin well at the Test Championship. India played West Indies in their first series after the World Cup and began their campaign with a white-wash of the opponents in both the T20Is and ODIs. Kohli was at his best in both the formats scoring some crucial runs and also two consecutive hundreds in ODIs. The fans and everyone else was now eager to see how much will he score in Tests as this was the place where he scored his first double hundred in a Test match.
However, Kohli failed to score big in the first match and managed the scores of 9 and 51 in both the innings. He never looked out of touch but failed to get the big score which he often does in West Indies. Even in the second match he scored a brilliant 76 and looked good for a big hundred but was dismissed by Jason Holder. It got even worse in the second innings as Kohli was dismissed for a golden duck by Kemar Roach.
Having a sub-par Test tour in the Carribean should not worry anyone because the potential and run-scoring hunger of Virat Kohli wouldn't abate. With the beginning of the home season, the Indian skipper would be eyeing for some big scores under his belt and even the World Test Championship as well.
Also see – World Test Championship points table