Virat Kohli's 100th Test: Top 7 achievements of former India captain

Star India batter Virat Kohli is all set to play his 100^th Test match when he steps out on the field in the first Test against Sri Lanka on March 4, 2022, in Mohali. Kohli will become the 12^th Indian player to reach the landmark of 100 Test matches. The former skipper Virat made his debut in the longest format of the game 11 years back in June 2011 against West Indies at Kingston in Jamaica.

The 33-years old batter struck his first Test century against Australia in January 2012 at the Adelaide Oval and since then, there has been no looking back for the Delhi-born Kohli. He has amassed 7962 runs in 99 Tests with an average of 50.39. Virat has smashed 27 centuries and 28 half-centuries in the format with the highest score of 254*. In 168 Test innings, the run-machine Kohli has struck 896 fours in the Whites.

In the first Test of the Australia tour in December 2014, Kohli captained the side for the first time since MS Dhoni was injured. India lost the match by 48 runs but Kohli slammed centuries in both innings. Before the start of the fourth Test of that series, Dhoni called time on his career, and Virat was appointed the full-time Test captain thereon. With 40 Test victories, Virat holds the record for fourth-most successful captain in the history of Test cricket. Meanwhile, let’s take a look at some of the-

Finest achievements by Virat Kohli in Test format:

7. Highest score for India as captain (254*)

During the second Test of the three-match Test series with South Africa in 2019, Virat Kohli notched up unbeaten 254 runs in 336 deliveries in the first innings in Pune. The right-handed batter struck 33 fours and two sixes batting at no. four. It is the highest score by an Indian captain in a Test inning.

India posted a massive total of 601/5d thanks to the double century from skipper Kohli as the team ended up winning the Test match by an innings and 137 runs. With the victory, the Asian giants also clinched the series 2-0 with one game being left. For his terrific double ton, captain Kohli was adjudged as the Player of the Match.

Notably, Virat holds the record for the top three highest scores by an Indian captain in the history of Test matches. The former captain smashed 243 runs against Sri Lanka on his home ground in Delhi in the year 2017 and 235 runs against the English side in Mumbai six years back in 2016. The next captain on the list is MS Dhoni who scored 224 runs against Australia in Chennai in 2013.

6. Joint-top with Sunil Gavaskar for most hundreds for India in a series (4)

During India’s tour of Australia in 2014/15, Virat Kohli wreaked havoc as he mustered a staggering 692 runs including four centuries in the four-match Test matches. In eight innings, he boasted an average of 86.50 with the highest score of 169.

He struck two centuries in the first Test itself at the Adelaide Oval in which he also skippered the side for the very first time in his career. Kohli scored 115 and 141 runs in the first and second innings respectively. In the Boxing Day third Test match, he amassed 169 and 54 runs in both innings. In the final match in Sydney where he was the captain again, he came up with scores of 147 and 46.

India’s legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar has achieved the feat twice in his entire career. He scored 774 runs including four tons against West Indies in the 1971 series against 732 runs with four hundred against the same opponent in the 1978/79 series. Notably, those were five and six matches series respectively with Virat recording the feat in a four-match series.

5. Fourth-most wins as captain (40)

With 40 Test victories under his belt, Virat is India’s most successful skipper and fourth overall in the longest and oldest format of the game. He has led the side in 68 matches with 40 wins, 17 losses, and 11 draws. The winning percentage of team India was 58.82% under the leadership of King Kohli.

For India, the second most successful leader in the white-ball format is MS Dhoni. He skippered the side in 60 matches with 27 wins, 18 losses, and 15 draws. The winning percentage was 45% under the stewardship of captain cool Dhoni. Sourav Ganguly is the third name on the list with 21 wins out of 49 Test matches.

Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, and Steve Waugh occupy the first three spots overall for 53, 48 and 41 Test match wins. Arguably, his biggest achievement as Test skipper has to be the first Test series victory for India on Australian soil in 2018/19. He led the team to a 2-1 series victory in the Border-Gavaskar trophy as India won a Test series for the first time ever down under.

4. Fourth-most hundreds for India (27)

The star batter has achieved 27 Test centuries in his career so far, the fourth-most by an Indian. In 168 innings, Virat has piled up 7962 runs with an average of 50.39 including 28 fifties as well. Sachin Tendulkar with 51, Rahul Dravid with 36, and Sunil Gavaskar with 34 centuries are in the top three.

Kohli has enjoyed scoring tons against Australia as he has smashed seven hundred against the Kangaroos, which is the most he has scored against an opposition. He has five tons each against England and Sri Lanka with three each against the New Zealand side and South Africa. Twice he has reached three figures mark against Bangladesh and West Indies.

Interestingly, out of the seven centuries against Australia, six of those tons King Kohli has struck in Australia. While 13 out of his 27 tons have come on home soil and 14 in away Test matches. Virat has slammed 20 out of the total 27 tons while leading the side. Only Graeme Smith has more centuries which is 25 as a captain in the Test format.

3. Fastest to 5000 runs as captain

In the Day/Night Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata in 2019, Virat became the fastest to 5000 Test runs as a captain. He achieved the feat in his 86^th inning beating the record of Ricky Ponting’s 97 innings mark. Clive Llyod and Graeme Smith reached the landmark in 106 and 110 innings respectively. He is one of seven other skippers overall to achieve the milestone of 5000 runs in the Whites.

Kohli reached the feat in 53 matches, while Ponting had taken 54 games to record the same milestone.  As a leader, he has notched up 5864 runs in 113 innings with an average of 54.80. Kohli has 20 centuries and 18 half-centuries with the highest score of 254* to his name as a captain. For India, MS Dhoni is second with 3454 runs in 96 innings with an average of 40.63.

Virat is also the fastest to 4000 Test runs. He reached this achievement in 65 innings during the fourth Test of India’s England tour in 2018. He broke the record of Brian Lara who got to the landmark in 71 Test innings. Kohli is also the first Indian cricketer to amass 4000 runs as a skipper. In terms of matches as well, Kohli is the fastest to 4000 runs as he got there in 39 matches with Lara achieving the same in 40 games.

2. Most double hundreds for India (7)

Run-machine Kohli has shattered seven double centuries which is the most by any Indian batter in Test history. Overall he is joint-fourth with England’s Wally Hammond and Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene to slam seven double tons. Kohli has one score of 250 plus which is 254* against South Africa in 2019.

He struck his first double hundred against West Indies in West Indies in 2016 when he played an inning of 200 runs. In the same year, later on, he scored his second and third double ton against New Zealand and England. Kohli scored 211 runs against the Kiwis in Indore and 235 runs against the English side at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

His next three scores of 200 came in the same 2017 year all again in India. He amassed 204 runs against Bangladesh in Hyderabad, 213 against Sri Lanka in Nagpur, and 243 also against Sri Lanka on his home ground in Delhi. Six of his seven double centuries have come on home soil. For India, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar are second on the list for six double hundred.

1. Most double hundreds as captain (7)

Virat Kohli has scored seven double centuries in his Test career and all those milestones have come when he was the skipper of the side. He holds the record for most double tons as a captain in the history of Test cricket. Legendary West Indian batter Brian Lara is second behind Kohli for hitting five double tons as a leader.

Australia’s pair of Don Bradman and Michael Clarke, and South Africa’s Graeme Smith are joint-third for scoring four scores of 200 or more. For India, MS Dhoni, Sunil Gavaskar, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, and Sachin Tendulkar all have scored one double century each. Kohli is way ahead in terms of double tons achieved by an Indian captain.

Such was the impact of Virat’s centuries in these seven matches that India went on to win six of the Test matches with one game ending in a draw. Kohli is also just behind Graeme Smith for scoring 20 Test tons as skipper. Former Proteas captain Smith had 25 centuries to his name as a leader.