An Australia series is known to make or break careers. The Indian team’s tour Down Under in 2014 witnessed the coronation of a young Virat as ‘King Kohli’ in Australia when he slammed four hundreds to take the baby steps towards being one of the world’s greatest batters.

Since then, the star batter has been a part of India’s next two Australia tours in 2018 and 2020, and continued to torment the Kangaroos in their own backyard, until the ongoing trip, which has been marred by misjudgements — and despite scoring a century in the tour opener of the 2024 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth, the master batter’s struggles outside the off-stump line has continued to haunt him.

Advertisement

If one jogs back memories of his 2018 century in Perth, the knock reconfirmed his status of being the undisputed King, and one that made his millions of fans believe anything is possible while he’s at the crease. Even at the start of 2024, he showed signs of his mastery in the craft, scoring 46 on a pitch where South Africa were bowled out for 55. Throughout his career, Kohli has relished the challenges, and defied expectations.

However, a lot has changed after that, fans don’t take time to build perceptions of his time being up in international cricket, especially in the red-ball format, and a part of that blame also goes to the man himself after getting out to balls outside the off stump over and over again. All six of his dismissals in the current Border-Gavaskar Trophy have followed this pattern.

Kohli has walked out to bat with the team in trouble in virtually every innings of the ongoing tour barring the one where he made a century, something which has been the inverse of his glittering career. He’s been one character, who’s fired up after confrontations, but even if his shoulder barge with MCG debutant Sam Konstas, was a way to fire himself up, he has failed to ignite it thereafter during India’s chase of 340 in the Boxing Day Test.

Instead, the 36-year-old superstar trying to intimidate the 19-year-old rookie has backfired on himself, and ultimately had to face the boos from the Australian crowd. Neither way, things seem to have worked out for the master batter on this tour.

The prolific batter has previously endured lean patches, but it’s a rare sight that he has struggled to overcome his vulnerability outside the off-stick on all six occasions this tour. It’s perhaps a signal to something isn’t right within when it comes to the one most important task he has been entrusted with. Let’s not forget he has carried that burden on his shoulders for the major part of his India career that began in 2008.

Probably on his final tour of Australia, Sydney offers him one final chance to reinvent his masterclass, work on his shortcomings, and deliver for India when his team, trailing 1-2 in the five-match rubber, desperately needs a win to retain the trophy. He almost did it at the MCG, where even Steven Smith believed his team would be at the receiving end of Kohli’s craft, but his innings also derailed because of a misjudgment – the run-out of Yashasvi Jaiswal rattling him so much that he immediately committed the same mistake of reaching for a ball outside off.

Kohli and his millions of fans would hope that the new year brings the old master batter back. After all, he’s the same player on the field, engaging with the crowd, both when they boo him and when they cheer him. He was involved with every ball of the play, offering suggestions to Rohit Sharma, chatting with the bowlers, and displaying his class while fielding.

The only thing that his fans now expect of him would be to torment the Aussies with the willow in hand at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He would want it too, perhaps even need it more, as not many players get such a long run after getting dismissed in identical fashion on multiple consecutive occasions, and for a lengthy lean patch for five years.

Perhaps, this could be one final chance for the veteran right-hander to retain his crown as King Kohli on Australian soil.