‘Kohli made some comments that night about having no respect for me as a player’

Former Australia cricketer Mitchell Johnson, who retired from international cricket nine years back, opened up on his “well-publicised personal rivalry” with former India captain Virat Kohli on Sunday ahead of potentially his last and final tour of Australia. The Aussie drew a similarity between the two as he recalled the famous face-off in Melbourne in the 2014/15 series.
Taking to his column in The West Australian, Johnson admitted that with both playing the game in a similar way, he enjoyed the intense rivalry, where there was less talking with the opposition and focus more on taking each other down.
“I had a well-publicised personal rivalry with Kohli. We had many interactions on the field and I enjoyed it. While I didn’t know him off the field, on the field we probably played the game in a similar way – taking the game on and not backing down.
Some don’t like that style of cricket and prefer there’s no chat with the opposition, but I enjoyed that part of the game. I would become frustrated during some of our battles, but I also enjoyed that he kept coming at me. It’s always a nice feeling to get one of the best out, and likewise, I’m sure he enjoyed taking me down and hitting me for a four or a six,” he wrote.
The two have faced each other in seven innings in Test cricket, with Kohli scoring 146 runs in 160 balls for four dismissals, all during that 2014/15 series. It was career-defining tour for the India star, who headed into the contest on the back of a dismal England away series, and was later named captain midway through the Australia series after MS Dhoni’s sudden retirement from Test cricket.
The most memorable of those face-offs between the two was in Melbourne, in the Boxing Day Test match, when Johnson, attempting a run-out during his bowling stride, hit Kohli, leaving him angry.
Admitting it as a “legitimate” attempt to dismiss Kohli, he recalled that the India star later went on to make some comments about him in the media, which “annoyed” him.
“Most of our differences stemmed from the Boxing Day Test in 2014, when a ball I threw hit him on the body. I was legitimately trying to run him out but he didn’t like what I did. He made some comments in the media that night about having no respect for me as a player, which annoyed me. The goal from our point of view was generally to get Kohli riled up as soon as he came out to bat and take his focus away from his skills. Get him annoyed and get him playing a big shot early,” Johnson wrote.
The Australia fast bowler did manage to inflict an early dismissal scare, but Kohli was dropped, and the latter then went on to carve out a score of 169, which helped India draw the match.
“In that Test match at the MCG we got him off guard early and had him playing at a ball he didn’t need to in frustration and unfortunately we dropped him on not many. He then focussed and harnessed his energy and piled on the runs – all 169 of them. When bowling to him, I can remember thinking we had to get him early or else we could be in trouble. If you didn’t get Kohli in the first 10 or so balls, he would often make you pay.
I also remember the cover drives, the pull shots and the urgency of his running between wickets. One of the best players in the world playing me with so much time, I think I even said ‘good shot’ in my head a few times after being driven down the ground,” Johnson added.