Virat Kohli Retires - From Edgbaston to Adelaide, Here's A Lookback at His Finest Knocks in Test Cricket

When Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket on May 12 (Monday), it left fans feeling sad as, throughout the course of his career, the red-ball format was the one he gave the most importance to. 

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Kohli's exploits in white-ball cricket, specifically ODIs, have him in the conversation for arguably one of the greatest batters in limited-overs cricket. 

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But time and again Kohli proved his mettle in red-ball cricket as well, whether at home or in overseas conditions. Here's a look at some of the best knocks Kohli has played in the format. 

141 vs Australia in Adelaide, 2014

This knock is often remembered for not only ushering in the start of Virat Kohli's captaincy, but showcased the defiance, skill and stroke making that would go on to define his career. 

He had scored 115 in the first innings but it was his second-innings ton, which came when India were chasing an improbable 364 to win and while Kohli was regularly losing partners at the other end. 

He mixed aggression with grit and his dismissal was the final straw as it triggered a collapse that led to India's loss, but it was a memorable knock regardless. 

149 vs England in Edgbaston, 2018

The 2018 series was seen as one of redemption for Kohli, as his struggles in England during the 2014 tour had raised question marks over his Test career. 

However, he flipped the script with defiance and changed the course of his career with a century that came in a losing cause again but which is widely considered one of the finest Test knocks by an Indian batter. 

Kohli's knock featured both aggression and patience and he did well to farm the strike with the tail-enders. Coming in to bat at 54-2, he put India in with a fighting chance of winning. 

153 vs South Africa in Centurion, 2018

This was another Test match that India would go on to lose, but also one that saw Kohli play a fine Test knock in what were extremely challenging conditions in South Africa. 

India only scored 307 in their innings and of those, 153 came off the bat of Kohli - which shows how well he judged and was able to make runs on a tough Centurion pitch. 

The strip had plenty of variable bounce on offer and South Africa boasted a quality pace bowling attack but Kohli negated them expertly to register another memorable overseas knock. 

235 vs England in Mumbai, 2016

2016 was a golden year with the bat for Kohli, and his excellence with the bat was perhaps best exemplified by the knock he played against England at Mumbai. 

The pitch on offer was a tricky one, offering plenty of spin early on. But Kohli got on top of the conditions and helped India post a huge total of 631, which helped them register an innings win. 

But it was Kohli's knock that stole the show - he batted nearly 9 hours and hit 25 fours and a six during his 340 deliveries at the crease. 

254 vs South Africa in Pune, 2019

The highest score that Virat ever posted in Test match cricket came against South Africa in 2019, and once again showcased his mastery of pacing an innings. 

He walked in to bat after the openers had set a solid platform and he took full advantage, batting over 8 hours to go past the 250-run mark. 

His knock featured 33 fours and 2 sixes and helped India declare at 601/5, setting up a dominant win by an innings and 137 runs.