Virat Kohli retires from Tests: Ranking the stalwart's 5 best knocks in the format

The moment Indian fans had been dreading came to reality when maverick batter Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Tests on Monday, May 12. The 36-year-old announced the same through an emotional post on his Instagram handle.

Kohli debuted for India in Tests in 2011, just after the side achieved ODI World Cup glory. After a torrid first year, the champion cricketer cracked the Test cricket code and became India's best red-ball batter over the next decade.

Kohli finishes his illustrious Test career with 9,230 runs in 123 games at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries. The veteran batter thrilled fans with several game-changing knocks across conditions in his 14-year Test career.

Kohli stood between India and defeat on several occasions, especially away from home, and the ability to stand tall under duress remains his greatest legacy in the long format.

While picking a handful of Kohli's knocks from so many is as herculean a task as any, here are the top five that almost assuredly tick all the boxes of Test batting.

# 5 116 vs Australia, Adelaide, 2012

Virat Kohli struggled to come to grips with Test cricket since his debut until the 2011/12 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. The Aussie crowd discovered that the steely Kohli was different from other overseas batters, often overawed by them.

Kohli impressed with a defiant 75 in the third Test of the four-match affair in Perth before finally breaking the century barrier in the following outing. With the Indian batting coming apart and the team facing an embarrassing 0-4 whitewash, the youngster grabbed the cricketing world in style.

Kohli overcame massive sledges from the Aussie players and the rowdy crowd to score his maiden Test century in the first innings of the contest. He finished with 116 off 213 deliveries, announcing his arrival in Test cricket with authority.

While the masterful knock could not help India avoid defeat, it proved that Kohli was here to stay.

# 4 153 vs South Africa, Centurion, 2018

Virat Kohli was among the few Asian batters who mastered the challenging South African conditions through his Test career. He averaged almost 50 in nine Tests at the Rainbow Nation with two centuries.

The second of the two centuries came in India's tour of South Africa in 2018, when Kohli was also the captain. Trailing 0-1 in the best-of-three affair, the champion batter walked in with India in disarray at 28/2, staring at South Africa's first innings total of 335.

However, on a spicy Centurion wicket, Kohli stood tall once again and scored a brilliant 153 off 217 deliveries to help India sail past 300. While the knock ultimately did not result in an Indian win, his 153 was the only century in the entire series, played on incredibly tough batting tracks.

# 3 119 vs South Africa, Johannesburg, 2013

It is only fitting that Virat Kohli's other Test century in South Africa also makes its way to this elite list. Still young in his Test career, the right-hander was up against arguably the best Proteas attack on the bounciest track in South Africa - Johannesburg.

Yet, even the likes of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, and Vernon Philander could not break Kohli's will as he scored a magnificent 119 in India's first-innings total of 280. It was a rare sight for a batter from Asia to cut and pull pacers with such ease on a pacy and bouncy wicket.

The match eventually ended in a thrilling draw, but Kohli walked away the winner, with a second innings 96 to follow up on his first innings brilliance.

# 2 149 vs England, Edgbaston, 2018

If Australia was Kohli's fiercest opponents, English pitches and the Dukes balls were a close second. The 36-year-old often found the going challenging in Tests in England, starting with his dismal tour in 2014.

Despite several sensational knocks since, skeptics continued questioning Kohli's stature as a Test great due to his lack of performance in England. Until 2018 arrived!

Driven to combat the English conditions and his nemesis James Anderson, Kohli began the 2018 Test series in England in style. With India reeling at 59/3 in their first innings at Edgbaston, Kohli brushed aside all doubts with a phenomenal 149 off 225 balls to help India reduce their first-innings deficit to just 13.

While India lost the contest, it settled any and every debate about Kohli's place among the all-time greats in Test cricket.

# 1 141 vs Australia, Adelaide, 2014

Adelaide 2014 is the first thing that almost unanimously comes to mind when Virat Kohli's Test career gets discussed. Captaining the side for the first time in the red-ball format with MS Dhoni out, Kohli did the unthinkable in the series opener.

With India chasing 364 on the final day and a draw readily available, the Delhi-born batter proved he was cut from a different cloth. Kohli went for the win and scored a scintillating 141 off 175 balls, following a ton in the first innings. Unfortunately, his efforts fell just 48 runs short.

Nevertheless, the knock proved once and for all that Kohli was all about playing for the win over fearing defeats. This shift in mentality worked wonders when he took over as the permanent Test captain and helped India become the best side in world cricket for most of his tenure.