‘That result in the bag is a big tick for Kohli’s captaincy’: Gower hails Virat’s leadership in 4th Test against England

Virat Kohli, following India’s spectacular 157-run win in the fourth Test against England, is being heavily praised for his captaincy. From making brave team-selection decision to changing the batting order and nailing the bowling changes, Kohli had an excellent Test match as India’s skipper at The Oval. The latest expert to jump on the bandwagon is former England captain David Gower.

Gower remarked that Kohli seemed relaxed and that is an important state to be in as a captain. He further credited Kohli for maintaining a positive atmosphere in the dressing room and scoring a big win not only for his team but also for his leadership.

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“In a game with so many ebbs and flows, one of the trickiest things as captain is what goes on in the dressing room – people don’t see this. It’s all about the atmosphere in that room. Is it a confident room? Is it a comfortable room? Is it a determined room? Is it a relaxed room? All these things come in.

“He (Kohli) seems to be enjoying himself, he seems to be relaxed. And that is one of the most important jobs as a captain – to help create the atmosphere in the room. So when India compiled that 466 in the second innings, that atmosphere must have been important. That performance on the final day. To have that result in the bag so definitively is a big tick for Kohli’s captaincy,” Gower explained while speaking to Cricket.com

Talking about moments that changed the face of the match, Gower opined:

“The big irony about the whole game is that we were talking about Ashwin. But Shardul comes in and smashes it all around the park – wasn’t a big total but it was a much better total than what it might have been. That shot that Moeen played. It was not what the situation demanded. The situation demanded something different. The situation needed Moeen to get another 20-30, that would have changed the balance of the game,” Gower explained.

The fifth and final Test begins on September 10, at Old Trafford in Manchester.