Virat wins as batsman but loses as captain

India's captain Virat Kohli (right) lost all five tosses in the Test series against England.

Virat Kohli the batsman exorcised the ghosts of a horrendous 2014 series but his captaincy left a lot to be desired in the just-concluded series against England which again turned out to be a case of "what it could have been".
Kohli is, in fact, right when he says that barring Lord's Test, they were not totally outplayed but England played better cricket during key moments during the 1-4 loss.
The series was testimony that batsman Kohli is heads and shoulders above his peers not just in India but in world cricket.
The 593 runs, with two hundreds and three half-centuries, and his battle of attrition with old nemesis Jimmy Anderson will remain stuff of legends.
The difference was stark with the second-highest scorer being KL Rahul - 299 runs, 149 of those coming in a dead rubber when the pressure was off. Where Kohli erred was not realising that his teammates were not as prepared for testing English conditions as he was. The Indian team reduced the duration of their lone practice game against County Champions Essex, a move that was criticised by none other than Sunil Gavaskar.
"Kohli should understand that if he doesn't play for a month, he would still come out and score runs. But others need practice. And in practice games you won't get Test quality attacks. But the batsmen and bowlers in match situation add miles to their legs. It's better than taking throwdowns," Gavaskar had said on air for the series broadcasters.
The biggest problem that plagued India was dodgy team selection.
Cheteshwar Pujara, who played a significant role in the Trent Bridge victory and scored a determined hundred was dropped from the first Test based on his poor county form. The Test specialist ended with 278 runs in the series.
Kohli's over-dependence on Hardik Pandya's all-round abilities in red ball cricket can also be questioned. A total of 164 runs including a half century at a time when India was about to declare and a five-wicket haul in Trent Bridge were his only tangible contributions across four Tests.
The skipper's persistence with Shikhar Dhawan, who has been a walking wicket outside the sub-continent, also created problems at the top of the order.
Since the 2013 South Africa tour, Dhawan has shown both lack of technique and temperament in top Test playing nations.
While Kohli was unlucky to lose all five tosses but his reading of the pitches and the team combinations left a lot to be desired.
The silver lining will certainly be KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant's hundreds in the fourth innings chase.
But Pant's glovework was par and Rahul finally got his mojo back after nine consecutive failures.
Sanjay Manjrekar put it aptly on Twitter.
To sum it up, India have lost six away Test matches this year at a time when the chief coach Ravi Shastri says that this is the best travelling team.
Facts are sacrosanct and they tell a different story even though skipper Kohli was a touch irritated when a scribe asked him a question about the supposed tall claims made by the coach.
Come December, Kohli's India will have a shot at Australia, a team that won't have David Warner and Steve Smith, the two game changers.
Kohli would be hoping for a merry Christmas Down Under.