How Nathan Lyon Spoiled Kohli's Captaincy Debut?

(Virat Kohli disappointed after being dismissed in the Adelaide Test against Australia in 2014)

The Adelaide Cricket Ground has been a venue for Indian cricket fans where they have seen some of the best cricketing moments of their team along with the worst ones. Be it a win in the first match of the 2018 Test series at the venue or a 36 all-out score, the ground has given all the highs and lows of the team. However, one match that will always haunt the Indian fans is of 2014 India vs Australia series when after 6 years of waiting, the Indian team was so close to getting their first win against Australia at their home. But a sudden collapse from the lower order gave Australia a win in the first match of the series and it was a heartbreak for the Indian fans.

Build-up before the match

In the overseas matches, India had a poor record under the captaincy of MS Dhoni and it was a matter of concern for the team. Moreover, with the Test series loss in England, Australia and South Africa, the team was now looking for a new captain who would take the responsibility and build a new team. Before the Australian series, MS Dhoni suffered an injury and hence was ruled out for the first match of the series against Australia and it was Virat Kohli who took up the captaincy in the absence of their former captain.

(MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli in the test format for the Indian team)

However, Virat Kohli was coming into the Test series after failing in the series against England where he could manage only 134 runs from the 10 innings played. But his numbers on the Australian shores were up to the mark and hence he was named as the Captain of the team for the Adelaide Test match that was played from 9th December to 13th December.

2014 Border-Gavaskar Trophy: India vs Australia 1st Test Match

The Adelaide Test was the first match where Virat Kohli was captaining the team in the Test Format and against the Australian team, it was going to be a tough task. Michael Clarke, the captain of the Australian team managed to get the toss in his favour and hence batted first on the flat pitch of Adelaide to get the advantage. The Australian team started off well and got to 50 runs without any loss, but two quick wickets got them at 88-2 in 19 overs of the game.

The next 2 days were completely dominated by the Australian team as the centuries from David Warner, Michael Clarke and Steven Smith got the team’s score at 517/7 and after that, the team declared to get the Indian team to bat. The Indian team also started well as Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay got them to a strong start. However, the quick wickets in between got the pressure onto the middle order. Virat Kohli playing his first match as a captain stitched a 101 runs partnership with Ajinkya Rahane and also got his century.

(Steve Smith scored 162* in the first innings of the Adelaide Test)

India registered a total of 444 runs and the Australian team was now 73 runs ahead in the match. Coming to the 2nd innings now. The Australian team started with a bang and it was the innings of David Warner that gave them the perfect start as he scored another century in the match while Steve Smith scored a half-century in the match to take the Australian team to 290 runs with the loss of 5 wickets. Michael Clarke declared the innings and the Indian team was given a target of 364 runs to chase in the fourth innings of the match.

After the end of the fourth day, Virat Kohli was seen in a press conference where he told reporters that the team would be looking to chase any target given to them and getting a draw in that match would be the last option for the team. With this, the mindset of the Indian team was clear and the next day, they started the chase accordingly. Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay got the team to 50 runs and they were looking all set but the two quick wickets took India to the backfoot. Now, Murali Vijay and Virat Kohli got the job to stabilise the innings and made a 185 runs partnership for the team.

(Virat Kohli during his 141 runs innings against Australia at Adelaide)

However, an unlucky dismissal of Murali Vijay on 99 runs by Nathan Lyon turned things in Australia’s favour. In between, Virat Kohli completed his 2nd century of the match but the team still had a long way to go. After the wicket of Murali Vijay, India needed 122 runs to win with 7 wickets in hand and the pitch being flat, the odds were in India’s favour. But Nathan Lyon turned the game completely with his spin and got the wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha in quick succession to put pressure on Virat Kohli.

With just 4 wickets in hand, India still needed 65 runs to win and with Virat Kohli being set, the Indian fans were still hoping to get things well. But a shot from Kohli on the bowling of Nathan Lyon saw him being caught at the deep mid-wicket by Mitchell Marsh and the whole Indian dressing room went numb. It was the end of the lone warrior of the team and after that, Australia picked the remaining 3 wickets in just 11 runs to give the Australian team a win by 48 runs.

(Australian team celebrating with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy)

Nathan Lyon’s spell of 34 overs saw him concede 152 runs and he managed to pick up 7 wickets in that innings. With his off-spin deliveries, he turned the game completely in Australia’s favour and hence was awarded the Man of the Match for his brilliant performance in the match. Virat Kohli was dejected with the team’s performance but his mindset of chasing any target uplifted the team’s morale.

At the end of the series, Australia lifted the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by 2-0 and it was Steve Smith who was Man of the Series for scoring 769 runs and 4 centuries to his name. Moreover, in the absence of Michael Clarke, he led the Australian team in the next 3 matches after the Adelaide Test while Virat Kohli was the captain in the 1st and 4th match of the series as MS Dhoni announced his retirement from the Test format in the middle of the series.