Do You Know How Many Times Virat Kohli Has Fielded Unchanged XI In Successive Tests?

The England vs India third Test match finally began on 25th August at Headingley, Leeds without any delay. Also, India started the match with a bang by finally winning the toss. Everybody was surprised after Indian skipper Virat Kohli finally bagged a Toss victory in England in Test cricket. Notably, this was the first time in 9 Test matches in England where Kohli has won the toss.

Meanwhile, there is another big record which Virat Kohli led India created heading into the Headingley Test. This was only the fourth time in 64 Tests where Virat Kohli and management didn’t change the playing XI in successive Test games. Notably, many fans once again expected that Ravichandran Ashwin might be included in the playing XI but it didn’t happen.

Also, Shardul Thakur who got injured after first was fit and available. However, he too missed out and India decided to enter the match with Lord’s winning combination.

The first successive unchanged XI came back in 2018 against England at Trent Bridge and Southampton. The second was against West Indies at North Sound and Kingston in 2019. Meanwhile, the third one was against Bangladesh at Indore and Kolkata in 2019/20. The latest and fourth one is against England at Lord’s and Leeds in 2021.

“It’s a surprise I’ve won (the toss)” – Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli is arguably the best Test captain of India. He has played the most number of Test matches for India and won the most number of matches as well. So far Kohli has captained India in 64 Tests winning 37 with an exceptional win percentage of 57.81. The Indian captain himself was stunned after winning the toss in English soil in the purest form of the game.

“It’s a surprise I’ve won (the toss). We’re batting first. Looks firm and without grass and runs on the board will set this up. We’re going in with the same XI. We thought about getting Ashwin in, and the pressure of the extra seamer in these conditions is crucial. Jadeja will bowl a lot more overs because the conditions are suited to him. You can lay down markers and a culture, but it’s upto the boys to take it up and win from pressure situations.

It’s all about handling pressure at the highest level. It’s the toughest place to bat for the openers, and KL and Rohit have done a good job. Hopefully, they can continue. About my batting, I’ll try to make an impact on the team with the bat. I believe in my process and sometimes it doesn’t really come off on the field, but I’m more concerned about how much of an impact I have on the team’s performance,” Virat Kohli said at the toss.

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