“Let down by our batting” - When Virat Kohli openly blamed India’s batters for Galle defeat in 2015
Virat Kohli is India's most successful Test captain with as many as 40 wins in only 68 matches but the start of his tenure was anything but smooth sailing. He led India for the first time in Tests in regular skipper MS Dhoni's absence in the first Test of the 2014-15 tour before being appointed the permanent Test captain before the final Test in Sydney.
While the Adelaide Test ended in a heartbreaking defeat, India drew the Sydney Test. A search for his first win as captain continued when their one-off Test against Bangladesh in 2015 ended in a draw due to inclement weather.
Finally, it appeared like Kohli's winless streak would be broken when India got themselves into a dominant position in the opener of the following series against Sri Lanka in Galle. However, India faltered stunningly to be bowled out for 112 in a simple run-chase of 176 to lose by 63 runs and fall 0-1 behind in the three-match affair.
In the post-match press conference, Kohli did not mince words and blamed the batters for their disastrous collapse in the final innings.
"Let down by our batting. There are no excuses there. The need of the hour in the second innings was to take calculated risk when you are chasing a small total in the fourth innings. Our intent was lacking. We let the opposition in today. Everyone is disappointed as throughout the game we dominated and it is disappointing to be on the losing side," said Kohli as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
After bowling the Lankans out for a sub-par 183 in the first innings, India scored a formidable 375 to capture a 192-run lead. However, an inspired 162* from Dinesh Chandimal and handy 40s from several others helped the hosts post a massive 367 in their second essay, setting India a tricky target of 176.
Kohli had a mixed outing with a brilliant 103 in the first innings, followed by only 3 in the second.
Virat Kohli-led India bounced back in style to win the 2015 Sri Lanka Test series
Virat Kohli finally broke his horror start to Test captaincy by leading India to back-to-back wins after the stunning opening Test defeat, resulting in a 2-1 series victory over Sri Lanka.
India dominated the second Test in Colombo from start to finish, grabbing a 87-run first-innings lead and winning by 278 runs. The series decider followed a similar path with Kohli's Men capturing a 111-run first-innings lead before winning by 117 runs.
Kohli finished India's leading run-scorer with 233 runs at an average of almost 39, including a century and a half-century.
However, Ravichandran Ashwin's 21 wickets, leading all bowlers from both teams, was the key difference maker as he bagged Player of the Series honors.