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Why Australia must fear Kohli's 2.0 version at Adelaide

WION
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaWritten By: Rustam RoyUpdated: Dec 10, 2018, 12:30 PM IST
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Photograph:(Reuters)

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The Aussies who are still recovering from the ball-tampering row and have put on their soft face in this series. 

India clinched the first Test at Adelaide after giving the fans some jittery moments as the last two wickets came close to taking the game away from the visitors, a victory by just 31 runs as Ashwin put his hand up and got the last man Hazelwood.

Kohli's body language held the key on the final day with India needing 6 wickets to win - not an easy kill in Australian conditions. The "traditional" Kohli has been erratic to say the least - loud, often foul-mouthed with a brash approach. However, on the last day Indian fans saw a new captain - the advent of Kohli 2.0.

In the post-match press conference, the Indian skipper frankly declared that his team won't be satisfied with the victory at Adelaide and will keep pushing to get better, a view which very few Test captains have expressed earlier while travelling abroad.

In an earlier interview, a mellowed Kohli had said just ahead of the Adelaide Test that he didn't know where to "draw the line" but admitted that he learnt from those experiences, "but mistakes that were important for me to commit", the Indian captain conceded because it helped him to correct them on the way and keep moving. It is a sign of a captain coming of age. 

Kohli admitted that he realised his mistakes and that he was now "massively different" from the earlier two tours to Australia. It might just reflect in the bottom line in this series if India clinches the Test series, and maybe even the one-dayers later in the new year.

The Aussies who are still recovering from the ball-tampering row and have put on their soft face in this series. 

The new Aussie coach Justin langer recently said that the home team often targeted the captain, it was the norm in Australia but in the post-tampering era, the coach said the Australians would be viewed as the "worst blokes in the world", although the comment came in for harsh criticism but the truth is India has done an Australia in Oz, unbelievable for an Indian fan!

In fact, Tendulkar on Twitter said India should make the most of the situation and "not lose their grip". Everyone it seems can smell blood in the water but at any rate, the Aussies at home cannot be written off just yet, as the last three wickets demonstrated, a few loose balls and a longer partnership would have changed the whole story of the series.

Langer, of course, did not take too kindly to Tendulkar's comment pointing out that the Indian maestro started playing against the greats of the game including Waugh, Boon, Ponting and Co, the current Australian team the coach said was still an "inexperienced" outfit.

This perhaps is the right time to put a few "scars" in the minds of the new generation of Australian cricketers - Waugh style and who better than the Indian captain himself, after all, he has held a grudge against the Aussies for a while now.

'India's Test' begins now with the hosts on the mat and Virat emerging as a "new captain". The battle to conquer the final frontier in Australia has truly begun.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)