"He told me about visualizing standing with his arms up at Lord's" - Former RCB teammate reveals inspiring Virat Kohli story from IPL 2018

Former India wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik recalled how Virat Kohli shared his ambition of standing with his arms aloft at the iconic Lord's Cricket Stadium in England ahead of the 2018 tour. Prior to that, the ace Indian batter had only one Test outing at the historic venue, scoring 25 runs in two innings in 2014, including a golden duck.

Kohli had a tour to forget on that occasion, scoring only 136 runs in five innings as India lost the series 1-3. However, by the time the next tour unfurled, the batter was the captain of the team, and on the lookout for redemption.

He made a massive statement straightaway by scoring a stunning century in the series opener at Edgbaston, Birmingham. The second Test of the series was scheduled at Lord's, where Kohli scored 23 and 17 in the first and the second innings, respectively. India went on to lose the contest by an innings and 159 runs.

"In 2018, when I spoke to him, when I was on the same tour, and during IPL, when I spoke to him, he told me about visualizing standing with his arms up in Lord's, and he went on to achieve it, not at Lord's, but he got a hundred in Bimingham, but the way he batted through the series, the scores are there for you all to see," Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

Kohli went on to score 97 and 102 in the first and the second innings, respectively, in the very next outing at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, as India secured a historic win. He was among the runs in the final two Tests as well, ending with a tally of 593 runs in 10 innings at an average of 59.30.

"Test cricket was played in a very simple, orthodox manner" - Dinesh Karthik on Virat Kohli's contribution to Test cricket

Virat Kohli leaves a lasting legacy in Test cricket that is beyond statistics. His innate passion for the format, the way he approached it, all made proceedings, a much more entertaining affair.

Dinesh Karthik explained how Kohli, with his intensity, and his aggression was able to revolutionise Test cricket into something that is worth playing and watching.

"Test cricket was played in a very simple, orthodox manner till the time this man took it upon himself to change the way, to change the intensity with which it was played. He brought that through with fitness, work ethic, and how he played," Dinesh Karthik highlighted.

"He almost made you feel that we were a lot more aggressive than the usual teams that were aggressive, like Australia. He took it upon himself, he would go at them. He is willing to take on the opponent, he is willing to take on the crowd, he is willing to do anything to win a game of cricket," he added.

Virat Kohli bowed out of Test cricket with 123 appearances, with 9230 runs at an average of 46.85.