Former India coach picks Virat Kohli's greatest Test innings as he retires ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 series

Former India head coach Greg Chappell has picked Virat Kohli’s greatest Test innings following his retirement from the longest format of the game on Monday, May 12. Chappell found it difficult to pick just one innings from Kohli, citing his four performances which left lasting impressions on him.

The 76-year-old rated Kohli's 141 against Australia in Adelaide in 2014 as his first pick out of the best four. This was the same game when Kohli began leading Team India in the red-ball format following MS Dhoni’s shock retirement during the Australia tour.

Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo:

“Kohli's greatest innings have been more than runs - they have been statements. His 141 in Adelaide in 2014, in his first Test as captain, chasing a monumental fourth-innings target, was an early blueprint. The 153 in Centurion (2018), the 200 in the West Indies in 2016, and the exquisite 254 not out at home against South Africa three years later, all told different stories of his abilities.”

Relive Virat Kohli's 141 in Adelaide below:

“Kohli has been its most influential figure” – Greg Chappell keeps Virat Kohli in the same bracket as Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni

Greg Chappell further lauded Virat Kohli for his contributions to the Indian cricket team, keeping him in the same bracket as Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni. On this, he wrote:

“Yes, Tendulkar was a genius. Yes, Dhoni was a master tactician and an ice-cold finisher. But in the grand reckoning of Indian cricket history, Kohli has been its most influential figure.”

The cricketer-turned-commentator also credited Kohli for keeping Test cricket alive in a fast-paced T20 environment. The former Aussie captain concluded:

“He [Kohli] revamped everything: diet, training, mindset. In doing so, Kohli became the blueprint for the modern Indian cricketer - relentlessly professional, obsessively fit, and mentally ironclad.”

“His evolution mirrored that of India itself - no longer content to play the supporting act. Confident, global, yet deeply connected to its roots. His global stardom ran parallel to the rise of the IPL, yet he never let the glitz distract from his Test ambitions. He made white-ball cricket his domain without sacrificing a drop of red-ball purity,” Chappell added.

Virat Kohli bid adieu to Tests with 9230 runs in 123 games, hitting 30 centuries in his glittering career.