England vs India: Captain Virat Kohli shattering records at will

Virat Kohli might be India’s all-season run machine but the man has also been smashing records as a captain, one after another. His captaincy run has been such that even the great Don Bradman is not out of reach. The ongoing series between India and England has two more crucial matches to go and Kohli has a lot to gain, both as a batsman and a captain and innumerable Indian fans will hope he succeeds in the mission.

Kohli, who is now India’s second most successful captain in Tests (22 wins) after Mahendra Singh Dhoni (27), achieved a major feat in the third Test at Trent Bridge which India won by 203 runs to make the series 2-1. The dashing right-hander scored 200 runs in the match (97 & 103 in two innings) and as the runs came in a winning cause. With that, he surpassed legendary Australian captains Sir Donald Bradman and Ricky Ponting. He now has scored 200 runs or more in a Test match that India won on seven occasions, one more than the former Australian greats.

Overall, Kohli has scored 200 runs or more in a Test as many as 10 times. In the current series, he has composed 200 runs in a Test match twice. He did the same in the first match at Edgbaston (149 & 51) though India lost on that occasion.

Kohli overtakes Bradman and Ponting

Bradman and Ponting had 200 or more runs in a game that Australia won on six occasions during their captaincy. While Bradman did it four times against England and twice against India, Ponting did it twice against Pakistan and South Africa and once against the West Indies and England. For India, Dhoni had scored 200 or more in a winning cause for India when he slammed 224 against Australia in Chennai in 2013.

Kohli, who now has 23 Test hundreds and 58 international tons besides 16 Test tons as the captain, is also on course to better one of Bradman’s mega record as the captain of Australia. Eight decades ago, the legend led Australia from 0-2 down against England to win a home series 3-2. India made it 1-2 at Trent Bridge and will look to force one of their biggest comebacks in an overseas series under Kohli’s captaincy.

India’s head coach Ravi Shastri, however, is not ready to look too far ahead at the moment. When asked about the famous win by Bradman’s Australia, he said: “1936-37, I wasn’t even born man! Why are you reminding me of ‘36-37? One match at a time, we live in the present, okay? One game at a time. Nottingham is over. There’s a break and we move to Southampton and start afresh. Take a fresh guard,” he told reporters after the third Test.

India take on England in the fourth Test at Rose Bowl in Southampton from August 30.

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