Stats: Importance of Virat Kohli's presence at the crease for Team India in Test cricket

With the every passing game, Virat Kohli’s stature in the Indian batting unit has just been growing as the Indian skipper has been the vital cog for them irrespective of the conditions. Especially on overseas tours, Kohli is twice a player than the next best among the Indian batsmen. In the ongoing Test series in England, Kohli has amassed 544 runs with one more game still to be played while no other player from either side aggregates even half of that.

India have played seven Test matches away from home this year and have failed to score big except in cases where their captain has done it. At an average, Indian team has scored only 38 runs before Kohli occupied the crease. The Indian skipper’s stay yielded 106 runs at an average while a couple of wickets have fallen at the other end. His wicket does trigger a collapse as India have averaged only 75 runs once Kohli got out. 48.77% of the team’s runs in 2018 have been scored when Kohli was at the crease.

Stages of Indian batting in Test cricket under Virat Kohli’s captaincy in 2018:

The pattern has been same ever since Kohli took over as the Indian skipper in late 2014. He became the quickest to 4000 Test runs as captain in the Southampton Test, has shared 7532 partnership runs during his tenure. The tally of 7532 runs is accounted for 35.6 % of total runs made by India under his captaincy. India made runs at an average of 85 runs for the first two wickets before Kohli’s presence produced 117.2 runs.

Stages of Indian batting in Test cricket under Virat Kohli’s captaincy:

In the Test matches outside Asia, the average during Kohli’s stay increases to 126.91 runs but the average before and after his dismissal deteriorates further. The percentage during his stay is 45.29 as India average only 99.25 runs after Kohli’s dismissal. This also shows that the difference in India’s batting while playing outside Asia compared to Kohli, who only gets better while travelling.

Stages of Indian batting in overseas Tests under Virat Kohli’s captaincy:

Kohli finds himself in the three of the top four Indian pairs in Test cricket while leading the team. He has shared 1873 with his deputy Ajinkya Rahane in this span which is the most runs for a pair under his tutelage. Kohli also shared 1449 and 930 runs respectively with Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara. The Vijay-Pujara pair has contributed 1501 runs but most of them have been at home and in Asia.

Top Indian pairs in Test cricket under Virat Kohli’s captaincy:

(Stats as on September 3, 2018)

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