3 worst Test series losses under Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli, India's most successful Test captain, has relinquished his leadership duties with immediate effect on January 15 (Saturday).

His decision comes a day after India failed to clinch their maiden series win in South Africa, losing to Dean Elgar's men by 2-1.

"It's been 7 years of hard work, toil and relentless perseverance everyday to take the team in the right direction. I've done the job with absolute honesty and left nothing out there. Every thing has to come to a halt at some stage and for me as Test Captain of India, it's now," Kohli said in a statement.

Virat Kohli resigns with 40 wins under his belt from 68 Tests, with only Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh ahead of him in the all-time list. During his tenure, India dominated the ICC Test rankings and also won a series in Australia for the first time in history in 2018-19 before repeating the feat in 2020-21.

India also reached the final of the ICC World Test Championship under Kohli, before losing to New Zealand. Despite all this success, series wins in New Zealand and South Africa have eluded the 'captain' Kohli.

On that note, let's take a look at 3 worst Test series defeats under Virat Kohli.

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#3 India in England (2018)

England vs India

England have always been a difficult frontier for India with their subcontinent batters struggling in seaming conditions. It continued when India toured the land of three lions in 2018.

Virat Kohli & Co landed in England on the back of a victory against minnows Afghanistan. However, they were dealt a massive blow early, losing to the hosts by 31 runs in a closely-fought game in Birmingham.

The Asian giants couldn't recover from the defeat in the first Test and were thrashed by an innings and 159 runs at Lord's.

2-0 down in the series, India rode on Kohli's (97 & 103) batting masterclass to pull one back in Nottingham. But they couldn't hold onto the momentum and lost their last two matches in Southampton and The Oval to lose the series 4-1, the biggest in terms of margin under Kohli.

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#2 India in New Zealand (2020)

New Zealand v India

The land of the Black Caps has always haunted Indian teams. The misery continued when Virat Kohli & Co. toured New Zealand in 2020, where the hosts inflicted a whitewash.

India bowed down to the pace and bounce of the Kiwi quicks, losing the first Test by 10 wickets in Wellington. Tim Southee and Neil Wagner bulldozed India's batting in both innings to set up an easy win for the hosts.

New Zealand's dominance continued in Christchurch where they beat India by seven wickets. Kyle Jamieson, who was playing his 2nd Test, ran down India's batting with a five-wicket haul before Trent Boult and Tim Southee completed the job in the second essay.

Thus, Virat Kohli failed to conquer New Zealand during his tenure as Test captain.

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#1 India in South Africa (2021-22)

India landed in South Africa with the best chance of clinching their first series win in the land of the rainbow nation, which has eluded them for 29 years.

Kohli & Co. began in great fashion, winning the first Test in Centurion by 113 runs. The stage was set for India to register their maiden series win in Johannesburg, but everyone was taken aback as the Proteas came back swiftly to beat the visitors by seven wickets on the back of Dean Elgar's unbeaten 96.

The Proteas continued their winning run at Newlands to shock Kohli & his boys, winning the match and the series. This defeat will continue to haunt Virat Kohli and his team for a long time to come.