At Eden Gardens, Virat Kohli emerged the clear winner

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Bengaluru, November 20: 192/2. That's when Virat Kohli walked into bat in India's second innings on Monday (November 20). In Test cricket, that's a red carpet welcome, a chance to flog a tiring attack.

But 2017 was not a year when Kohli the Test batsman strode over like a giant as he did in the shorter formats. Yes, he had made a double hundred against Bangladesh and a hundred against Sri Lanka at Galle.

But his other 10 innings produced scores of 38, 0, 13, 12, 15, 6, 3, 13, 42, 0. There were those not-so-hushed talks. Virat Kohli is a colossus in limited over formats. But in Tests, he still has to prove himself despite an average in excess of 49.

In the immediate present, Kohli has not scored a fifty at the Eden Gardens before Monday. His modest run at the Eden soon could have pervaded several minds as India began to lose wickets at regular intervals for no significant lead.

It was not the kind of situation Kohli has faced often in his time as a Test batsman - bat for time, save a match.

The pitch at the Eden Gardens was a peppy one, not your usual 22-yard coffin of bowlers. Lankan bowlers, especially Suranga Lakmal was on top of his game.

It was Kohli's stage to fail. But this Kohli is a different beast. He vies to put himself in a pressure situation and measure his ability to tame it. At Eden, he found a perfect example.

When Kohli bats, there's an assured air around him. It does not matter whether he has just entered the crease or has gone past 100. Here too, Kohli was unruffled by pitch, bowlers, situation.

He progressed to his first fifty at Eden in 80 balls with six fours with strike rate hovering over 64. But the next 52 runs flowed in in just 39 balls that contained six fours and two sixes and the second maximum carried him past the three-figure mark. His strike rate was an astounding, T20-like 135.90.

It was a resounding slap on the face of the situation. Suddenly, India's lead swelled to 230 and the Sri Lankans might have been wondering who was the under pressure team.

Here Kohli has showed that he's fast maturing as an uncompromising, aggressive leader as well while making a declaration in time to give the bowlers a chance to have a crack at the Lankans. They did and only poor light halted their march to victory.

For many, Virat's aggression is overbearing. But now he has matured to use that aggression more productively on the field. And it has also given a competitive edge to the team. It will come handy soon too.

India will be traveling to shores where victories were hard to come by. It does not require to be Nostradamus to foretell that 2018 will be a year of hardships. India will find themselves in the Eden situation more often than not.

India will require every ounce of positivity if they are to stay afloat on those trips and Virat will have to be the central figure. His teammates will be looking up to him. He has to set the tone.

In Kolkata, in Eden Gardens, Kohli has taken that first step. The Test might have ended in a draw but Kohli has emerged a clear winner.