Top 5 memorable achievements for India in ODIs under Virat Kohli

With a tweet, the BCCI, on Wednesday evening, brought Virat Kohli's tenure as India's ODI captain to an abrupt end.

India, unfortunately, didn't win any ICC titles under his leadership. But Kohli's numbers as ODI captain and the accomplishments of Team India during his four-year tenure as captain deserve to be celebrated.

Kohli led India in 95 ODIs, winning 65. He is ranked fourth among Indian captains in terms of ODI wins. However, Kohli's W/L ratio of 2.407 is better than the trio of Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni.

Moreover, Kohli has the third-best win percentage (70.4) in the world among captains who have led in at least 90 ODIs. Only Ricky Ponting (76.13) and Hansie Cronje (73.7) are ahead of him.

Kohli led India to the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy and the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup. Apart from that, he led the team to multiple overseas series wins. On that note, here's a look at the top five memorable achievements for Team India in ODIs under Virat Kohli:

---

#5 Dominating league stage of CWC 2019

India vs Pakistan - ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

One thing that is often overlooked when we talk about India's 2019 World Cup campaign is Virat Kohli's astounding consistency during the league stage.

Of course, there are good reasons for it: the top-order collapse, lack of luck and the make-up of the batting order during their semi-final defeat to New Zealand. It once again laid bare India's issues in ODIs and especially in knockout games.

Having said that, one should also give the team the due it deserves. Yes, they once again slipped when it mattered most. However, the consistency with which they went about their business in the group stage shouldn't be overlooked.

India were the best team in the round-robin stage where they swatted aside opposition teams, barring eventual champions England and finalists New Zealand (due to rain), with disdain.

India defeated South Africa, Australia, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, ending the league stage at the numero uno spot. But, as they say, the most consistent teams seldom win the title. That is exactly what happened with the Men in Blue during the summer of 2019.

---

#4 Beating England 2-1 in 2017 and 2021

India vs England - 3rd One Day International

Virat Kohli's stint as ODI captain coincided with England's rise as a white-ball juggernaut, especially in the 50-over format. His biggest legacy as white-ball captain will be the manner in which India consistently overpowered Eoin Morgan's England, though.

India won all three T20I series (2-1 in 2017, 2-1 in 2018 and 3-2 in 2021) against England, besides winning two out of three ODI rubbers.

Kohli started his ODI stint at home against the current world champions back in 2017, which India won 2-1. Morgan's side pulled one back during the 2018 home summer by winning the three-match series 2-1. They then beat India in a must-win World Cup game in 2019.

However, Kohli's men once again beat England 2-1 earlier this year. That proved to be his final series as India's ODI captain.

---

#3 Winning series in New Zealand after ten years (4-1 in 2019)

India thumped New Zealand 4-1 in 2019.

Everyone knows New Zealand beat India in the 2019 World Cup. However, very few realise that the same team lost to India 4-1 at home six months before that game.

India's New Zealand tour followed a historic tour of Australia where the visitors won the Test and ODI series Down Under for the very first time. After that, Kohli's men tasted more success on the other side of the Tasman.

Kohli led India in the first three games of the five-match series. The visitors won the games by eight wickets, 90 runs and seven wickets, respectively to seal their first ODI series win in New Zealand since 2009.

Rohit Sharma led the team in the last two ODIs. Although India lost the fourth game by eight wickets, they won the last by 35 runs to cap off a fine series win. The magnitude of the series win can be ascertained from the fact that New Zealand haven't dropped an ODI series on home soil since then.

---

#2 Winning maiden ODI series in South Africa (5-1 in 2018)

6th Momentum ODI: South Africa vs India - 2018 series

Captain Virat Kohli etched his name in the history books in February 2018 when he became the first Indian captain to win an ODI series in South Africa.

India came close to winning their maiden ODI series in 2010-11, but ended up losing the decider. Seven years later, it was complete domination by the Men in Blue, as they hammered the Proteas 5-1 in a six-match series.

Again, it was captain Kohli who led from the front with the bat. The legendary batter smashed 558 runs in six matches at an average of 186, including three centuries.

Apart from Kohli, the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav spearheaded Team India's charge. They performed brilliantly against a South African batting unit that looked clueless against spin.

Chahal (16) and Kuldeep (17) claimed 33 wickets between them as India completed a dominating maiden series win.

---

#1 Best travelling team in ODIs (2017-21)

India won ODI series in every country except England under Kohli [Image- BCCI]

While England are the reigning world champions, India under Kohli were the most consistent ODI unit between 2017 and 2021.

Under Kohli, India won ODI series in the West Indies (3-1 in 2017, 3-0 in 2019) and Sri Lanka (5-0 in 2017). They also won series in South Africa (5-1 in 2018), Australia (2-1 in 2019) and New Zealand (4-1 in 2019).

Overall, India had a W/L ratio of 1.923 overseas (25 wins and 13 defeats in 40 games). It's the best among all teams, followed by England (1.583) and South Africa (1).