If Kohli was there we would have won 3-1, we would have chased down the 400 odd at SCG.
As i have explained quite a few times, we also won a series in 2018 when Kohli was our captain, as for Smith and Warner's presence - our bowlers would have dealt with them just like they did, don't need Rahane for that.
2018 we were sooo far ahead with our performances that its not a fair comparison.
2020 series could have been lost at a gazzilion instances. Astute captaincy, solid team management and tremendous luck helped us.
I am pretty sure we wouldn't have won it had Kohli been there.
This isn't to say Kohli is a bad Indian test captain.
He has played a pivotal role in moving Indian test team forward and 6-7 years back, I used to fight with the entire PP (Indians, pakistanis and co) for asking Dhoni to step down and Kohli to take over.
Today, the concept of 5 bowlers seems normal but Kohli popularized it. Tactically he made mistakes from day 1, but he brought a lot to the team otherwise and for that, we Indians fans must be grateful and appreciatiave.
As it is with cricket, a team goes through various phases.
A captain good for a phase may not be ideal for another.
Tactically, Dravid was better than Ganguly....but in 2000, India needed Ganguly the test captain wayyy more than Dravid. He was the one who instilled fighting spirits in us. Ganguly's poor performance and other issues led to his downfall.
After Ganguly, Dravid the tactician took over, and we won overseas tours in WI and Eng (if I am not wrong). Till date, we haven't won in Eng since the 2007 tour where he was the captain. Dravid unfortunately didn't have the support of the dressing room and he couldn't impose his authority so he quit.
After Dravid, came Dhoni who is ideal to manage an established team. We went to the number 1 spot under Dhoni. The moment the seniors lost their power, Dhoni was left clueless.
Then came Kohli who went all in with 5 bowlers, backed fast bowlers to the hilt and was always on the lookout for wins. Our 2000s team might have had ATG but were meek. But Kohli's India was ruthless and tried to whitewash everyone at home while staying competitive away. Kohli's problem was his poor team selection and tactics which did cost us a lot of away wins (at home, we somehow made up for it).
Then came Rahane (the ultimate aggressive tactician) who with Kohli's team, did things the world has never seen.
There's no perfect captain for every situation.
Moreover, captains usually go stale after 5 years so always better to move on.
Kohli moved Indian test cricket forward but now it's time for a new captain (or atleast time to start looking for one).
