India, Jan. 6 -- They booed him. Then they cheered him. Then they cheered because he asked them to. But as he walked off the field after playing presumably his last Test innings Down Under, the chorus at the Sydney Cricket Ground was a mix of boos and admiration. The greats are usually given a standing ovation when they play their last match on foreign soil, but that wasn't the case with Kohli.

Rather, the home crowd seemed to be asking: "What is wrong with Kohli?" A question Australia had not asked of Kohli for a long time. He got under their skin, he was spiky. spunky. But he backed it up with performances on the field; performances that told of an almost unhinged desire to win. Australia didn't mind that - they loved the idea of someo...