A video of Virat Kohli recalling his battle with Mitchell Johnson during the 2014–25 Test series against Australia is making the rounds on social media.
Virat Kohli will never forget the Australian Test series that India played in 2014–15. In addition to being a brilliant batsman in Australia, he took over as India’s Test captain during the tour, taking the place of the legendary MS Dhoni. With 692 runs in the four-match Test series, Kohli was the Indian team’s leading scorer, trailing only Australia’s Steve Smith (769). In the first two innings of the first Test match at Adelaide Oval, Kohli scored a century apiece. While Kohli did not repeat his heroics in the subsequent game at The Gabba in Brisbane, he did make a strong return, scoring hundreds in both Melbourne and Sydney during the third and final Test matches that followed.
A video circulating on social media shows Kohli reflecting on the series and his clash with Australia’s then-pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson.
“During the opening match of the tour, Johnson’s first ball smacked my head. Initially, it was pure incredulity. For 60 days, I’d seen myself playing this way and that, but after that blow, everything changed. “It was a heavy blow, and my vision began to deteriorate as my left eye swelled, but I didn’t notice it at the time,” Virat Kohli said in the popular video.
“And throughout lunch, there were essentially two options: fight or flight. For these reasons, I am grateful. And I responded, of course, by saying, “How dare he hit me in the head?”
“Mene kaha isko mein itna maarunga iss series mein (I said I’ll smack him around in the series and that is what I did,” Kohli remarked.
Speaking about the 2014 Australia tour and his matchup with Mitchell Johnson, Kohli Saab
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— Aani (@wigglyywhoops) April 11, 2024
When Dhoni was not available, Kohli led the Indian team in place during the first game. Dhoni was back for the second and third games. Following Dhoni’s retirement from the format, India named Kohli their full-time Test captain starting with the fourth game against Australia.
