Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni are two of the most successful captains in the history of Indian cricket. One won all three major white-ball trophies, while the other became the country’s most successful Test captain. Both were established ODI batters, going past 10,000 ODI runs, but you’ve got to believe that Kohli was just that tad better when it came to Test matches. Dhoni never scored an overseas century, while 14 of Kohli’s 30 Test centuries came away from home. However, you may find it interesting to know that that wasn’t always the case.
In the early stages of Kohli’s Test career, when Dhoni was slightly better equipped for batting on foreign pitches, especially in SENA nations. In fact, during a Test match between India and New Zealand in 2014, former pacer Neil Wagner explained how he was able to trouble Kohli with his short-pitch tactics, but Dhoni seemed to be handling them well.
“This Test match, I remember the wicket being quite flat, but there was a bit of pace and bounce. Eden Park is quite small on the straight, but the square boundaries there are pockets that are helpful. I remember bowling a couple of bouncers and how they played it, and particularly [Virat] Kohli looked a bit unsettled. He didn’t know if he should take it on or not and how to play,” Wagner, 39, said on the Red Inker Cricket Podcast.
“The idea was trying to go cross and outside eyeline. He (Kohli) tried to pull it in front of square because there’s protection out. Him trying to pull it in front of square, he just got a toe end on it and it carried through to BJ Watling. He got a bottom edge on it and it created a bit of a mode,” he added.
‘MS Dhoni didn’t look like it was bothering him’
The game Wagner is talking about is the series opener in Auckland, where New Zealand set India a stiff target of 407 to win in the fourth innings. Kohli began well, scoring a well-compiled 67 to steady the innings. In fact, at one stage, India, at 268/5, might have even smelled a victory, with Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja stitching a partnership of 54 after Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan‘s century had driven India to a decent position. However, the same old story unfolded as Wagner’s 4/62 bowled India out for 366, giving New Zealand a 40-run win. Looking back at that contest from 11 years ago, Wagner was proud of the way he got Dhoni out when the former India captain seemed to have an answer to the pacer’s short-ball plans.
“Then Dhoni and Jadeja looked like they were going to chase it down and play a phenomenal innings. Dhoni didn’t look like it was bothering him too much. It was all about taking the positive and aggressive option for us and not being fearful at all. I was like I am going to bowl a slower ball bouncer to Dhoni. I did it and he chopped it on, and I was amazed by it. The confidence that I got from that and backing your gut feeling made me feel like getting some confidence and some self-belief,” Wagner added.
