Virat Kohli is no stranger to battles with Australia and the Australians – his recent spat with Travis Head during an IPL league stage game reminding fans of the heat and intensity that made him such a crowd favourite at home and on Aussie soil.
While Kohli has a character has always been up for a fight and an in-your-face kind of character, he never let things descend to a truly scrappy level, like Australia has been prone to do on other occasions. Part of this is having a stable support staff around him – appearing alongside Kohli for a podcast for Kohli’s lifestyle brand One8, former Indian coach Ravi Shastri reflected on one occasion.
Referencing the 2014 Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour, famous for Kohli’s Test captaincy debut and true rise to the limelight as India’s leader and star for years to come, Shastri answered a question regarding whether he ever had to hold Kohli from picking up a fight.
“Never… no once, once. I’ll tell you about it,” said Shastri as Kohli laughed alongside him, clearly prepared and aware of what was to follow.
Kohli not to be deterred by aggression – and often feeds on it
“This was Melbourne, right. And he and Mitch were constantly having a go, because first ball he played he hit him on the head,” said Shastri, remembering how Johnson had struck Kohli hard on the head right at the outset of his famous twin tonnes in Adelaide in the opening match of that fiery series.
“And he’s off to a start at lunchtime. Both going up… as he enters the dressing room, he’s looking at Mitch like this. I had to catch him like this, come here, come here, focus on your batting. I think of those days and sometimes your hair stands,” remembered Shastri regarding that iconic encounter.
Of course, while Australia had the last laugh on that tour with the wins, it was the arrival of Virat Kohli, who proved that he was often t his best when he was riled up and giving the motivation to perform via some intensity.
Kohli would go on to strike a century at the MCG as well on that tour, the seeds of a love-hate relationship with Australia in which tours Down Under became his favourite hunting ground.
