Rising from the ashes: Virat Kohli recalls historic 2014-15 tour to Australia as a major confidence booster

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Virat Kohli has had a tumultous time in Australia over the years. (CricketCountry/ FoxSports)

Ahead of the highly anticipated first ODI against Australia, Virat Kohli admitted that his experience in the land Down Under during the 2014-15 tour was crucial in his journey as a player. 

Arriving in Australia for his fifth tour with the Indian side, Virat Kohli elucidated his time in the country during a virtual media conference. The 32-year-old claimed that the tours have always come at a crucial juncture and his performances have been wayward at times, but in the end, has always helped him to grow.

Kohli
Virat Kohli has had a tumultuous time in Australia over the years. (CricketCountry/ FoxSports)

The captain singled out the 2014-15 tour in particular as a series which propelled his confidence to next level. He said:

“The second time was a difficult situation because I had come out of the 2014 tour of England [where he failed miserably as a batsman]. Australia was again a daunting tour; full of quality players in the opposition.

We were coming up against a very strong team. That tour revealed a lot about myself as a person and about my game to me and took my confidence to next level,” 

India’s tour to Australia in 2014-15 marked Virat Kohli’s maiden experience as a test captain after leading the team in the first and the fourth test. Apart from the testing tides of leadership, Kohli had a stellar series with the bat by amassing 692 runs which included 4 centuries.

The tour had come at a difficult time for the batting ace after faltering heavily in India’s previous overseas tour against England. He struggled heavily against the tenous deliveries outside the off stump and was only able to register 134 runs across 10 innings at a miserable average of 13.4.

Kohli also spoke about India’s recent exploits in Australia, where the Men In Blue emerged victorious by a margin of 2-1 to retain the Border-Gavaskar series. Moreover, the side were also able to claw back in the limited over series to win the ODI series and draw the T20 series.

“[The tour of] 2018 was very memorable for all of us, winning for the first time in Australia, the Test series. Winning the ODI series and drawing the T20I series was also very special because as a captain and a team we were able to achieve our goals in a difficult place,”

India will kickstart their long tour with the first ODI in Sydney which will be followed by the rest of the campaign.

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