When New Zealand played their last international match this year

#3 Kohli was yet to perform well in England

Kohli was the leading run scorer in the England vs India Test Series 2018 scoring 593 runs, 224 runs ahead of the second highest run scorer, Jos Buttler

Before the 'India vs England Test Series 2018', Virat Kohli was considered as a failure in English conditions, as he had scored just 135 runs in 10 innings, averaging just 13.5 in the Test series when India toured England in 2014.

However, when India toured England after four years for a Test series in August, Kohli proved all the allegations against him wrong after he scored 593 runs in five Test matches, smashing two centuries and three half-centuries.

Therefore, Kohli was still a poor performer in English conditions when New Zealand played their last international match.