Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.
Venue- Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne [December 26-30, 2014].
In the summer of 2014-15, the Indian Cricket Team toured Australia to play 4 Test Matches. Unfortunately the visitors lost the first two tests, and when the action reached Melbourne, the clouds of whitewash started looming before the Indians once again. However, unlike the 2011-12 tour, visitors this time showed resistance and courage. Even though they lost both the games, they went down fighting. However, if we look closely into the Indian performance, we will find that the performance of the bowlers was quite like it was in the 2011-12 tour. Even the batting didn't make much difference. However, it was the coming of age of Virat Kohli which turned out to be the sole contrast between the results of the two tours. Virat Kohli was determined to fight till the last minute of the game, and that is what made the difference. In Adelaide he was on the cusp of greatness as he single-handedly took India close to an impossible target. Unfortunately, he was caught out at 141, and India lost the game by a small margin.
Interestingly, the story in Melbourne turned out to be no different. The Indians were on the back foot as the hosts piled up 530 in their first innings. However, this made no difference to Kohli who along with Rahane stitched a massive partnership of 262 and brought the visitors back into the game. Kohli played a majestic knock of 169 and took the attack back on the Australians. In an innings which lasted for around 380 minutes, he scored 18 boundaries. It was pure class from Virat Kohli, who was soon to become the King of World Cricket. However, it was not only about his batting but also his aggression, which garnered a lot of attention. The fans were absolutely loving it because now we had a cricketer who took on the Aussies in their backyard. Apart from Kohli, Rahane too scored a quickfire 147 of just 171 deliveries as Aussies struggled for wickets.
Furthermore, Virat Kohli scored a crucial 54 in the second innings of the game as well, as the Indians managed to secure a draw in Melbourne and thus avoided a whitewash. Rahane too was instrumental in avoiding defeat in MCG as he too scored a gritty 48 of 117 deliveries.
Interestingly, this game turned out to be the last test match for the great MS Dhoni, who soon announced his retirement from red-ball cricket. The MCG test thus witnessed the passing of the baton from Captain Cool to Captain Courageous. Rahane was appointed the deputy of Kohli in Test Cricket. The Duo went on to script history for Indian Cricket in years to come.
To watch the innings of Kohli and Rahane, Click Here.
To watch the last day resistance of Team India, Click Here.
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