If Virat Kohli can overcome his mental block against England, winning will be a formality for India

Virat Kohli’s numbers suggest that he bats unlike the Virat Kohli we have become familiar with against England. England is the only team he is yet to master with the whites on. In 48 Tests overall, Kohli averages 45.56 with 13 centuries to his name. Against England the numbers are sliced to below half. He has an average of 20.12 in nine games with a solitary century.

Kohli’s last visit to England was a shock. It threatened to burst his bubble. He was already considered among India’s greatest talents. But the tour was set to prove his highly-praised quality to be a myth.

Shocking numbers, routine dismissals

In the five Tests, India’s then vice-captain barely hung around at the crease. A highest of 39 in a run tally of 134 at an average of 13.40 was appalling even by tail-end standards, and these were numbers (or the lack of them) from the bat of the next big thing in world cricket. Unsurprisingly, India crashed to a 1-3 series loss then.

Kohli had 10 innings to revive his dying campaign in England. But he failed in each one of them. Towards the end of the tour, he was so out of form that his best mode of survival was if he could play and miss. Problem is, he rarely missed.

By the end of it, there was a trend in his dismissals that emerged. On seven instances, Kohli was caught behind the wickets. The bowlers changed, but his failure in the peculiar manner remained consistent. Chris Jordan, Stuard Broad and James Anderson all took turns.

They had identified Kohli’s weakness. Pitch the ball just outside off stump and shape it away. Kohli’s tendency to follow the ball would come into play, and invariably he would nick the ball.

It was such a regular feature that if an image defined the tour, it was that of Kohli looking back in disgust and helplessness as the ball travelled to one of the fielders behind the stumps, while an England pacer rejoiced in the backdrop.

Kohli turns 28 on Saturday. It will be more than two years since the horrors of the visit to England. It may have taken him only a couple of months to banish the demons of that tour, as he struck four centuries in as many Tests Down Under soon after, but the pain must still be felt.

For a cricketer of Kohli’s class, who has mastered almost every opponent, his record against England remains a blemish on his otherwise spotless career. Hence, the pain must still be felt. And it will be felt till he does not plunder runs against Alastair Cook and his men in the five Tests that commence in Rajkot on Wednesday.

Whirlwind of change

There has been a whirlwind of change for Kohli since the disaster that was England 2014. Apart from his continued success in the one-dayers, Kohli amassed runs at will in Australia and has struck two Test double hundreds – one at North Sound against the West Indies and the other one in Indore against New Zealand. Most crucially, he is now the Indian Test captain. And as the leader of the Test side, he has led his team to triumphs over Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand.

Like his career, he has a sparkling record as the permanent Test captain. But England will provide a fresh challenge. While they were ruthless in their den two years ago, they proved to be the proverbial banana skin four years ago on their last visit to India.

The hosts were expected to decimate England. But the visitors prevailed, thrived and stunned India to win the series 2-1 – their first series win on Indian soil in close to three decades.

England’s pacers have tasted Kohli’s blood. They know the recipe to their past success against him. The pitches in India may not offer the kind of assistance they had back home, but they will still bombard Kohli with the line on and outside off. They will hope for some movement off the pitch; if not, they will bank on reverse swing to help them continue their success against one of the world’s most consistent batsmen.

But that is when the English pacers are likely to encounter a Kohli who has plugged all his loopholes from the last time they played him in a five-day game. He still has the knack of poking at the red cherry outside off, but he also has greater determination to avoid doing so on most occasions.

A class apart

Before Kohli takes his stance, he will swirl the bat in his hands like he always does. He will stare at the bowler, who waits for him at the end of his run up. And then he will aggressively tap his bat as he sets into his stance. The aggression was always there. But this time, Kohli’s aggression could carry an answer to every query the English bowlers throw at him.

If the ball does not do much, Kohli’s square cuts and cover drives may be on display for everyone to admire. If the ball nips around a bit, the maturity in Kohli may offer it some respect. And that should help Kohli survive. And if he survives, the damage he can incur can be unparalleled.

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen explained to The Cricketer magazine recently why the Indian Test skipper is a class apart. “Kohli is as good as it gets. He is right up there. He plays so aggressively – sometimes it's like, are you serious? The way he makes big runs for his team so often is just remarkable.“

While Kohli had managed to end England’s last visit to the country with a century in the final Test in Nagpur, the knock was not enough to earn India a victory. But now as Test captain, it is his India. It is his responsibility to lead from the front.

When Kohli wishes for another year of heightened glory on his birthday, triumph against England will be an immediate wish. After all, he has a personal record to set in order. And, now also, the record of a team, he calls his own, to set straight. If Kohli can overcome his personal blocks against Cook’s men, it may only remain a formality for India to win their first Test series against England after three failed attempts.