In seaming conditions against Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander, he left responsibly early before opening up and targeting the spinners. It was a calculated innings that allowed India to eventually get to a winning position before the match ended in a tense draw.
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It looked like India might get Kolkata-ed. They were well ahead in the Test, but Brendon McCullum and BJ Watling had done a Laxman-Dravid, and on day five, it looked like India might lose. Rather than just bat time, Kohli played sparkling shots all around the wicket, taking the pressure off India and getting them a draw.
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In his first Test as captain, Kohli had already got a century in the 1st innings. When Australia made an aggressive declaration, leaving India 364 to chase in a day, Kohli decided that his side was going to play for a win and not a draw and that he was going to be the one to show them how. Lyon was turning it big, there was awkward bounce, but Kohli was sweeping from outside off, cover driving against the turn, pulling and cutting Johnson. India lost the match by 48 runs.
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Kohli had already announced himself with twin hundreds at Adelaide, but with Ajinkya Rahane matching him, he created theatre on cricket's largest stage by roughing up Johnson (68 off 73 balls), who had terrified England on these pitches the previous season
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Playing five batters, India were six down with 93 in arrears when Kohli started amping it up, sweeping out of the rough, driving against the turn and lofting down the ground. With Jayant Yadav's 104, India scored 631 runs while England ended up for 195 runs with Ashwin's 6 wickets in the 2nd inning. India won the game by an innings and 36 runs
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In his time at the crease, Kohli scored 104 off 119 balls, while six wickets fell at the other end for 56 runs. When bad light brought an early end to the Test, it was to the relief of Sri Lanka, who were 75 for 7 in a chase of 231. Virat is the only centurion in that match scoring an unbeaten 104. The match was drawn at the end.
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With Markram and Amla's impressive innings SA scored 335 runs while India with Kohli's 153 left 28 runs behind in the 1st inning. ABD scored a much-needed 80 and pushed SA towards a safer side while India's worst performance in the 2nd inning handed them a 135-runs defeat.
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Kohli's first Test century in England. An inning that showcased his vulnerability at the beginning, followed by his tenacity to stay put, then his free-flowing and glorious strokeplay, and above all, his immense hunger to be one above his opponent. India loses the game by 31 runs despite of Kohli's half-century in the second inning.
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With uneven bounce, seam movement, high pace, and turn from the rough this pitch required the highest quality of batting which Virat never fails to execute. The next highest score in the whole match was 72 from Khawaja. This is the match where Koli and Paine had a heated moments in the first inning.
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Before 36 all out, India had had a slight upper hand in the Adelaide Test and quite a bit of that was down to Kohli, who marked his first day-night Test at his favourite venue with an innings of technical virtuosity. On a day-one pitch with spongy bounce, he largely shelved the full-blooded drive and displayed beautiful balance at the crease and scored his second-slowest half-century, coming off 123 balls.
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