For their Super Eights match against Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup, the Indian cricket team is currently located at Bridgetown in Barbados.
Jamaica, 1976 kilometers from Barbados, was where Virat Kohli started his Test cricket journey thirteen years ago today.
During their test tour of West Indies in 2011, India played West Indies in the 1st Test at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica
After a recent ODI World Cup win in April, Virat’s revered Test cap was given to him as he became the 268th cricketer to represent India in this form of international game which is considered to be most traditional and recognized.
The Test was won by India with a margin of 63 runs even though Kohli scored four and fifteen respectively during both innings.
However, that quiet beginning seemed more like the proverbial calm before the storm because Virat went on to become the finest batsman of his generation and arguably one of the greatest ever to wear whites for Tests.
Thirteen years later, Virat has aggregated 8,848 runs from 113 Tests with an unbeaten highest score of two hundred fifty-four (254*) at an average of forty-nine point one five (49.15) with twenty-nine (29) hundreds along with seven double tons (200s/200+).
Virat is fourth behind Sachin Tendulkar (15921), Rahul Dravid (13265) and Sunil Gavaskar (10122) among other Indians on this list for run aggregates while playing red-ball cricket.
Having taken over from MS Dhoni as captain in tests back in 2014, Virat till now captained India for number sixty-eight test matches having best winning rate amongst captains who have played over ten games. In those matches he has won forty matches lost seventeen.
All through these years he has always considered Test cricket as the epitome of international cricket and it was under his captaincy that India won their maiden test series in Australia after 71 years in 2018-19.
Under the leadership of Virat, India managed to win Test matches on Australian, English, South African, Sri Lankan and West Indian soil. They also made it to the World Test Championship final but were narrowly beaten by New Zealand.
Virat left Test captaincy in January 2022 to be succeeded by Rohit Sharma.
Today, when India faces Afghanistan, he would wish to play a big knock with the willow for making this day memorable.
