Image: Virat Kohli facing first ball bouncer from Mitchell Jhonson
India's 2014–15 Australian Test series may have ended in defeat, but Virat Kohli's batting heroics turned it into a classic. He amassed an incredible 692 runs across four Tests. The drama began immediately.
Filling in as captain for MS Dhoni, Kohli's first ball was a vicious bouncer from Mitchell Johnson that struck him on the helmet. The blow could have derailed him, but Kohli showed true grit. He rallied after the lunch break, blasting 115 runs and setting the tone for three more centuries in the series.
Kohli, got his act together during the lunch break and went on to score 115 -- the first of four centuries he hit in the series.
“Isko mein itna maarunga naa, and that’s exactly what I did”
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Kohli saab talking about the 2014 Australia tour and his battle against Mitchell Johnson ??? pic.twitter.com/geP35IUz08
The former India captain touched upon the incident, what he went through and how it made his resolve to do well stronger in a video that has gone viral on social media.
"First Test, first ball of the tour. He (Johnson) hit me on the head, and I was in disbelief. I had been visualising how I would play in this series for the past 60 days. And suddenly, there was a complete change of plans. It was a heavy blow. My vision started dropping, I had swelling. There were two deliveries remaining before lunch, that I played," said Kohli in a public gathering, recalling the incident from almost a decade ago.
"There were two options: fight or flight. Naturally, my reaction was like, 'isne mere ko maari kaise sar pe ball (how could he hit me on the head)? I was like, 'main isko itna maarunga iss series me (I will hit him so much throughout this series). And that’s exactly how it happend," Kohli added
Kohli went on to score centuries (115 and 141) in both the innings of the Test. But it wasn't enough to prevent a defeat as Australia won by 48 runs.
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