Since the end of the England tour in 2018, India captain Virat Kohli’s form has tapered off. The dip is especially apparent in Kohli’s away record; he averages only 31.41 from nine overseas Test matches after England 2018, a tour on which he had amassed 593 runs from five Tests at an average of 59.30, including two centuries, a 97 and two more half-centuries.
Kohli’s away Test record
| Until England 2018 | Metrics | After England 2018 |
| 39 | Matches | 9 |
| 3226 | Runs | 534 |
| 47.44 | Average | 31.41 |
| 13 | Centuries | 1 |
| 9 | Fifties | 4 |
| 59.09 | Conversion rate | 20.00 |
| 57.15 | Strike rate | 42.51 |
| 83 | Balls per dismissal | 74 |
For a batsman who has scored an astonishing 70 centuries in international cricket, Kohli has surprisingly not made any hundred in any format of the game since his 136 against Bangladesh in India’s inaugural day-night Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in November 2019. His last overseas Test century came at Perth against Australia in December 2018.
Kohli’s century drought across formats
| Until November 2019 | Metrics | After November 2019 |
| 395 | Matches | 40 |
| 70 | Centuries | 0 |
| 98 | Fifties | 17 |
| 41.67 | Conversion rate | 0 |
Kohli’s century drought in Test cricket
| Until November 2019 | Metrics | After November 2019 |
| 84 | Matches | 7 |
| 27 | Centuries | 0 |
| 22 | Fifties | 3 |
| 55.1 | Conversion rate | 0 |
Although he has scored two Test centuries in England and one in New Zealand, Kohli’s record in those two countries is nowhere near as good as his record in the other two ‘SENA’ nations: Australia and South Africa.
Kohli’s SENA record
| Metrics | South Africa | England | New Zealand | Australia |
| Matches | 5 | 10 | 4 | 13 |
| Runs | 558 | 727 | 252 | 1352 |
| Average | 55.80 | 36.35 | 36.00 | 54.08 |
| Centuries | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Fifties | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
The World Test Championship final against New Zealand will be played in Southampton, England. And Kohli will derive confidence from the fact that his 2018 England tour performance is his second-best in a SENA country in a Test series of three or more matches. His finest away series performance till date is the 692 runs he scored against Australia in 2014-15 with four hundreds at an average of 86.50.
Featured photo: AFP / Marty Melville
