From Adelaide 2012 to Sydney 2024 – Virat Kohli’s love-hate relationship with Australian crowd comes full circle

As the Sydney Test match ended, Virat Kohli trudged off the park. The same grounds that had given him the highs of 2019. Six years ago, it was the same Sydney Cricket Ground where Kohli stood atop the podium. Pictures of him kissing the Border Gavaskar Trophy are still fresh, as this is the first ever series win in Australia. Six years have passed since a lot has changed. The 36-year-old was the stand-in skipper for sure, but the circumstances had changed. 

One thing that didn’t change was the love-hate relationship Kohli has had with the Australian crowd. It is no secret that the Australian fans act as the 12th man and rally behind the team when the going gets tough. Over the last 13 years of his Test career, Kohli hasn’t faced a much harder challenge. The likes of Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, and many more have bowled to him. 

While Kohli has been able to take all the aforementioned names head on, it is his relationship with the fans that has been a constant. The Australian crowd loved to take on Kohli, and the former Indian skipper didn’t hold back ever. Right from flipping the bird or reminding the fans of the Sandpaper Saga, the player's arc has come a full circle. The 36-year-old isn’t going to visit Australia as a player ever again. But it’s what he did during the five tours that will stay in everyone’s memory. 

Virat Kohli’s perfect arc with Australian fans 

Make no mistake, Virat Kohli has enjoyed tremendous success while playing in Australia. His 18 Test’s have yielded over 1500 runs with seven centuries and four half-centuries. The first ever century came during the 2011/12 tour, where the then 23-year-old, as a young player, scored a gritty 116 at the Adelaide Oval. During the same game, the young batter was needled by a few Australian players as the situation heated up. Ricky Ponting being the senior pro calmed things down and pulled the young Indian batter away. It was during the same tour that Kohli had shown his aggressive side by flipping the bird during a game to the fans. 

The next major flash point came during the 2014/15 tour, where Kohli had an infamous run-in with Mitchell Johnson. The incident that triggered the angry reaction happened during the MCG test as Johnson threw the ball at Kohli, striking the batter. Words were exchanged, and the series began with bonhomie due to the sad and tragic passing of Phil Hughes.

The passing of the young cricketer had united the cricket world, but yet again, tensions meant that the unity lasted a few days. After his century at the MCG, Kohli, in the now-famous press conference, said, “They were calling me a spoilt brat.  said'maybe that's the way I am—I know you guys hate me, and I like that. I like playing against Australia because it's really hard for them to stay calm. I don't mind an argument on the field. It really excites me and brings the best out of me, so they don't seem to be learning the lesson."

The press conference brought Indian fans together in support of their young batter. The Aussie players and the crowd though were appalled. This was a batter who was challenging the status quo; the tenacity and verve shown by Kohli wasn’t like anything seen before. Begrudgingly, Australia began to acknowledge the brashness that the youngster was bringing to the table. By the time Kohli toured Australia in 2018, things had changed; he was now the captain, and the home team was without Warner and Smith. A few months later, the Indian skipper had goaded the Indian fans to cheer for Steve Smith during the ODI World Cup game at the Oval. The 2020 tour ended with Kohli playing just one game before his eventual flight back home to be with his family. 

Eyes were set on Kohli visiting Australian shores for the last time. This was the moment everyone was waiting for. It began with the century in Perth that turned out to be a false dawn. By the time the Melbourne Test rolled through, the series was level at 1-1. Sam Konstas making his debut had rattled the Indian bowlers. Kohli took it upon himself to try and unsettle the youngster and shoulder-charged him. The next day, the media made Kohli the target.

From being labelled the ‘King’ to ‘Clown’ and a few unsavoury digs, the media and fans lapped it up. 
Virat Kohli wasn’t going down without a fight; this was the same guy who mocked the Barmy Army with his trumpet celebration at the Oval in 2021. After Steve Smith fell with the hosts still needing 104 runs, Kohli dug into his pockets. A clear reference to the Sand Paper Saga of 2018 is that Smith, as a captain, was eventually banned for a year. The crowd hated it, so did the experts, so did everyone with an opinion. The 36-year-old wasn’t going out without making a statement.

The reception he got every time he walked to bat mixed cheers from Indians and choruses of boos to the Aussies hadn’t died down in his mind. Neither did the vile chants at MCG by the Aussie fans. As it is said, ‘Life comes in a full circle’. It certainly did for Kohli on 5 January 2025, when he made the Aussie fans squirm again. His last act with the bat may have been forgettable; his last act as a player was defiant. It was almost like an old boxer who is staggering and has lost the fight but refused to leave the ring with assistance. Just like the boxer, Kohli left on his own terms and accorded with his relationship with Australian fans, coming full circle.