By When Pandya hit a huge six off Daniel Sams in the last over to seal a six-wicket victory for India at the SCG, Kohli also became the only international captain to win a series (more than one match) across all formats on Australian soil.
Kohli had won the Tests and ODIs the last time India toured down under in 2018-19 but had to be content with a draw in the T20Is. This time, however, he led India to a comprehensive series win with the last match still to be played.
Faf du Plessis is the only other captain to achieve victories in Australia in all three formats but his T20I victory came in a one-off affair in 2018. He had led South Africa to 2-1 Test series win in 2016-17 and a 2-1 ODI series win in 2018-19.
Kohli also became the first Indian captain to win T20 series in SENA countries – South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia. Dhoni, the only other Indian captain to have led the side in all these countries in the shortest format had failed to win a T20I series in England and New Zealand.
Apart from the record-books, which never have been against Kohli both as a batsman and captain, what impressed many was the way he handled youngsters like T Natarajan and Sanju Samson.
Kohli backed both Natarajan and Samson and pushed them in situations where they had a chance to make meaningful contributions towards the success of the team.
Last but the not the least, the decision to play Hardik Pandya as a specialist batsman and bat him higher than his usual No.7 position paid rich dividends for India in this tour.
