“No one thought that India can win that Test match” - Veteran Indian batter hails Virat Kohli’s leadership and aggression

Cheteshwar Pujara has hailed Virat Kohli's leadership qualities following the latter announcing his retirement from Test cricket on Monday, May 12. Pujara cited the example of the declaration in the 2021 Lord's Test match against England, which paved the way for India's win.

The 37-year-old referred to the victory as one of the best he's been part of and stated that the decision to declare with two sessions left in the game was brave. India declared at 298/8 in the second innings and set a 272-run target for England.

The visitors, led by Mohammed Siraj's spell of 4/32, won by 151 runs to claim a 1-0 lead in the series.

"That was one of the best victories I have been part of. Because no one thought that India can win that Test match. It was a brave declaration on day five where only 55-60 overs were left and on a pitch which looked a flat pitch, where to bowl a team out was a big challenge."

"Credit goes to the way everyone performed, the way bowlers bowled, the way Virat led the team, and even the way team management supported that call, because it was important to declare. There are times where you feel like it's a flat pitch, there's no point wasting our energy, but that was a brave call and we ended up winning that Test match," Pujara told ESPN Cricinfo.

Cheteshwar Pujara picks Virat Kohli's hundred at Perth in 2018 as his favourite innings

Cheteshwar Pujara played Test cricket with Virat Kohli from 2012 to 2023. In this period, he had the opportunity to watch Kohli play some exceptional innings, both at home and overseas. When asked to pick his favourite Kohli innings, Pujara chose his 123-run knock against Australia at Perth in 2018.

"Unfortunately, we ended up losing that Test match, but on a pitch like that, which was a fiery pitch where there was a lot of lateral movement, there was enough in the pitch to trouble the batters. But he came out aggressively, started playing those straight drives, those classic Kohli cover drives, and the way he played the pull shot, because there were times where he was troubled by the pull shot in the earlier games," Pujara said.

Kohli and Pujara last featured in the same Test XI at the World Test Championships final in 2023, which India lost to Australia by 209 runs at The Oval. The latter has been out of favour in the Test setup since that loss, with the management opting for Shubman Gill at the number three position.