141 vs Australia in Adelaide (Australia vs India first test 2014)
This was arguably the finest test innings Virat has produced so far. Acting as a stand-in skipper in place of MS Dhoni, Kohli looked to be in a zone of at his best. India were given a huge total of 364 runs in the fourth innings on a tricky Adelaide wicket. Kohli came in at 57/2 and combined brilliantly with opener Murali Vijay. The pair displayed some ferocious cricket to drag the team to 242 before Murali Vijay was dismissed for 99.
But Kohli didn’t show any sign of fatigue, he was at his majestic best and determined to chase the target down all by himself. While wickets falling around him, the skipper was never ever looked hassled. But in the end, a pull shot couldn’t get the desired result and Kohli was caught at deep mid-wicket for a magnificent 141. Indian innings eventually fall apart after this dismissal and Australia won the match by 48 runs.
Even Ian Chappell, the former Australian captain hailed the innings as the best he has seen while chasing down totals. Kohli already smashed a hundred in the first innings too, and he became only the second batsman after Greg Chappell to score two centuries on captaincy debut.
And all this came just after one week of the tragic death of Phillip Hughes. An outstanding effort indeed, but sadly Kohli’s masterclass didn’t get to the target as dreamt off.