Virat Kohli's top 3 worst overseas tours
Virat Kohli has made his name as one of the greatest batters to have ever played the game. He has consistently performed for India in the longest format of the game to stamp his place among the greatest.
He averages 49.71 in his career and has amassed 28 fifties and 27 centuries. Kohli has also stood on overseas tours, scoring 4227 runs at an impressive average of 42.27
However, not everyone tastes success all the time, not even Virat. Here's a look at three overseas tours where the former Indian Test captain has failed to impress and stamp his authority.
#1 India tour of West Indies, 2011
Virat Kohli not scoring a century in an entire tour *
vs NZ 2019/20 (Away)
vs Ban 2015 (Away)
vs Eng 2014 (Away)
vs WI 2013/14 (Home)
vs WI 2011 (Away)
* Min one Test + one ODI/T20I
#NZvIND
After a historic World Cup victory in March 2011, Virat Kohli earned his Test debut by being one of the best-performing newbies in the ODI team.
However, the youngster didn’t immediately find success in Test cricket, struggling to make an impact on the tour to West Indies. He scored only four runs in his short debut in Kingston, gifting his wicket to a Fidel Edwards loose delivery. He couldn’t do much better in the second innings either.
The rest of the tour wasn’t anything special in Virat Kohli’s rather exemplary beginning to his career, showing up with scores of 0, 27 and 30 in Bridgetown and Roseau respectively, averaging only 15.20.
Although India went on to win the three-match series 1-0, Virat’s failure to adapt to Test cricket initially taught him that there is a long way to go.
#2 India tour of England, 2014
While Kohli was merely a debutant on the 2011 tour of West Indies, Kohli arrived in England as one of the hottest properties in world cricket, having scored runs in South Africa and Australia already.
However, he was yet to score runs in one of the toughest playing conditions in the world, i.e. England.
Playing his first Test match in Nottingham, Kohli departed after scoring just one run. The second innings was no different, departing after scoring just eight runs.
As India’s tour steadily deteriorated post the second Test at Lords’, he never found form on this 2014 tour. He scored only 134 runs at an average of 13.4. James Anderson dismissed him four times.
This period was particularly difficult in Virat Kohli’s life. The failure, however, made Virat Kohli into a better batsman and a stronger person.
#3 India tour of New Zealand, 2019/20
Least Average by Kohli in a Test series
9.20 vs Aus (2017)
9.50 vs NZ (2020)*
A failure that is rather brushed off in the career of Virat Kohli, both in terms of batting and captaincy, was the two-match Test series against New Zealand that was played in Wellington and Christchurch.
Kohli was in his usual form, scoring runs all over the world before the tour. However, the conditions in New Zealand proved to be too good for the world’s best batter.
With scores of 2,19 and 3,14 respectively, the star failed to shine in the two Tests, ending with 38 runs in four innings and an average of 9.50 in the series.
This loss strengthened the team and its captain as they went on to build a team that would retain the historic Border-Gavaskar Trophy and lead the Pataudi Trophy 2-1 before the fifth match.