Virat Kohli leads Donald Bradman in Test cricket

Indian captain Virat Kohli at the age of 29 is already a modern great. A quick look at his numbers and the first thing you will notice is that average of 52.86 in T20 Internationals. He is the only active cricketer who can boast of a 50-plus average in the shortest format of the game. In 55 matches, the right-handed batsman has piled up close to 2000 runs.

In ODIs, the charismatic chaser has already notched up 32 centuries. And he is only behind one of his cricketing idols Sachin Tendulkar (49).  To be the captain of a country where people religiously follow the game, isn’t the easiest task on the planet, but Kohli seems to enjoy all the attention and the rare brickbats. He led India to its record eight consecutive Test series win. And recently wrapped up India’s seventh straight ODI series, the most by an Indian skipper till now.

He loves to deliver under crunch situations and believes in leading from the front. He often stays a step ahead of his opposition, and his work ethic is something which has influenced the best in the business. 2017 has been a good year for the Indian. This year, he went past the 2000-run mark in all three formats of the game. The only other batsman to have achieved this feat is South Africa’s Hashim Amla.

Since taking over the Test captaincy from MS Dhoni three years ago in the Australian summer, Kohli has only got better. He gave a glimpse of what was to follow during his first Test as captain, where he scored tons ( 115 and 141) in each innings and went for a victory instead of settling for a ‘much-needed’ draw at that point in the series. India lost that Test match to Australia by 48 runs but the manner in which they pressed for a victory was heartening.

In 29 Tests as captain, Kohli has scored 2,560 runs at an average of 59. 53. He has scored 10 centuries and four fifties in whites since settling in the hot seat. And therefore when we take a look at his conversion rate, the Indian skipper stands out among all the greats. Kohli has turned his gritty fifties into mighty hundreds like no other. His conversion rate as the Test captain is at a staggering 71.43%. Legendary former Australian captain Donald Bradman is at the second spot with 66.6%.

Hence, Kohli is not just ahead of his competitors but has also gone past many greats of the game. At 29, the passionate cricketer has many more years of cricket left in him and only time will tell his numbers as we keep a count.