Virat Kohli | The 5-year long journey from Jamaica to Antigua

In the second innings, India were once again in trouble at 57/3, and this time, Kohli was dismissed for just 15 runs by a short delivery, which was aimed at his ribs. Question marks were raised about his temperament for Tests and his ability to deal with two of the basics in the longer format of the game—deliveries outside the off stump and bouncers. Back in 2011, at the start of that series, many felt Suresh Raina's weakness against the short ball would be exposed, while Kohli would grab his opportunity. The reverse happened, as Fidel Edwards tormented him like only a few bowlers have done in his career so far.

Almost five years after that forgettable Test debut, in a partly cloudy afternoon at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Thursday, Virat drove Jason Holder through the covers for his first runs en route to score his maiden double century. He moved forward to the pitch of the ball with the confidence of someone who knows he is the best in the world at what he does. There was no uncertainty about where that front foot had to be planted. That confidence has not arrived overnight, though. The journey from Jamaica in 2011 to Antigua in 2016 has been a long and rocky one.

Yet, amidst all the applause, praises, adjectives, and accolades that have been hurled towards him recently, there remains a sense of incompleteness.

Sachin Tendulkar had Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, and Jacques Kallis to compete with in his career, and all of them had dazzling records in Test cricket. Virat Kohli, on the other hand, is compared with the likes of Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, and Joe Root, and all of them have been more successful and consistent in Test cricket than Kohli.

In the fourth Test, Kohli scored his maiden century at Adelaide and ended the series as India's top scorer. That series marked his arrival in Test cricket, and two years later, the tour to South Africa marked his establishment in the Test side.

There were some amazing statistics in that innings of 119, but the one which stood out was the fact that Kohli had left alone 61 of the 181 deliveries he had faced, despite maintaining a strike rate of 66. A player who had struggled against deliveries outside off stump, showed tremendous control and patience to leave those balls, going against his natural attacking instinct. A player who had also shown weakness against short deliveries, started his innings with two crisp pull shots against Kallis and Dale Steyn. He seemed inviolable, and all his known failings had disappeared. It was reminiscent of the innings of 169 Sachin had played in Cape town almost six years ago, and it established Kohli as the new No.4 in the side.

Despite the dwindling number of gate receipts in Test matches across the world, it still remains the standard bearer of this sport. One might get a heroic reception for smashing Shivil Kaushik for 30 runs in an over in IPL, but once you hang up your boots, people will only remember that cover drive off Dale Steyn, who was breathing fire with the red cherry in his hand. Lack of Test cricket for India has not provided Kohli the opportunity to crawl up the ladder and challenge the likes of Steve Smith and Kane Williamson in the rankings. However, with India set to play a host of Test matches in the next seven months, Kohli finally has the chance to remove any lingering doubt that critics might still have about his greatness. The double hundred in Antigua might just be the start of Kohli's journey to cricket's hall of fame. The start of a journey to conquer the final frontier.