Virat Kohli's skill and spikiness on the field reminded many of their own: Australian media

Melbourne: The chroniclers of cricket in Australia, where Virat Kohli truly cemented his greatness, waxed eloquent after it dawned on them that he will no longer torment their bowlers in whites.

In the news rooms Down Under, a collective sigh interspersed with cheers and applause flowed as their tormentor-in-chief for over a decade brought the curtains down on a glorious Test career on Monday.

"For Australians, there was fascination with Kohli for his combination of incredible batting skill and spikiness on the field that reminded many of their own," leading Australian daily Sydney Morning Herald said of the Indian icon.

"Kohli's first series in Australia, in 2011-12, was an unexpectedly lopsided romp for the team led by Michael Clarke. In spite of the 4-0 scoreline, Kohli showed more defiance than many of his older contemporaries, capping it off with a century in Adelaide."

"He also gained some early infamy for flipping the bird at SCG spectators."

"This was the start of a running battle with Australian spectators that ended when Kohli made sandpaper gestures to the same crowd on what became his final day as a Test cricketer in January this year," the newspaper said.

The 36-year-old Kohli, India's most successful Test captain, played in 123 Tests, scoring 9230 runs with 30 hundreds and 31 half- centuries at an average of 46.85.

He will now only be seen in ODIs, having already retired from T20 Internationals last year after having a significant role in India's World Cup win in the Caribbean.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) highlighted his successful run as India's Test captain, which also included a historic series win Down Under.

"His Test career will also be remembered fondly for his spell as captain between 2014 and 2022, winning 40 of his 68 Tests in charge to become the country's most successful skipper in the format and fourth all-time in terms of victories behind South African Graeme Smith (53) and Australians Ricky Ponting (48) and Steve Waugh (41)," ABC wrote in its tribute.

Virat Kohli broke1.4 billion hearts with retirement announcement, read the headline of a piece in news.com.au.

It said that the departure of the two titans Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be felt when Indian tour England later this summer.

"Kohli has been the rock at the centre of India's middle order for most of his career — and losing (Rohit) Sharma and Kohli at the same time is a major gut punch to the cricketing powerhouse.

"The immediate departures of Sharma and Kohli add another layer of intrigue to the widespread reports of disharmony within the Indian dressing room during the team's tour of Australia this summer," news.com.au concluded.

Fox Sports said the absence of Kohli, alongside Rohit, will leave a "gaping hole" in the Indian batting line-up.

"... With it being an unstable time for the team, the departure of Kohli and his successor as skipper at the same time will leave a gaping hole off field as well as in the Indian top order, despite their struggles, ahead of a crucial series," Fox Sports said.

Since making his Test debut in 2011, Kohli captained India to the world number one position in the format and fetched a historic series triumph in Australia in 2018-19.

He also logged 20 hundreds as captain, making it the highest by an Indian in that position.