'King' Kohli gears up for final shot at retaining crown in Oz

Having begun his career with a bang in Australia in 2014, the Team India star is back where it all started

- TRIDIB BAPARNASH

An Australia series is known to make or break careers. The Indian team's tour Down Under in 2014 witnessed the coronation of a young Virat as 'King Kohli' in Australia when he slammed four hundreds to take baby steps towards becoming one of the world's greatest batters.

Since then, the star batter has been a part of India's next two Australia tours in 2018 and 2020, and continued to torment the Kangaroos in their own backyard, until the ongoing trip, which has been marred by misjudgements—and despite scoring a century in the tour opener of the 2024 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth, the master batter's struggles outside the off-stump line has continued to haunt him. If one jogs back memories of his 2018 century in Perth, the knock reconfirmed his status of being the undisputed King, and one that made his millions of fans believe anything is possible while he's at the crease. Even at the start of 2024, he showed signs of his mastery in the craft, scoring 46 on a pitch where South Africa were bowled out for 55. Throughout his career, Kohli has relished the challenges, and defied expectations.