 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Virat Kohli returns to Test cricket after a long gap in the coming Test series against Bangladesh.
He last played a Test match against South Africa in Cape Town in January before he pulled out of the five Test home series against England for the birth of his son Akaay.
As he makes a comeback, Kohli will have an important milestone in his sights.
He needs just 152 more runs to get past the landmark of 9,000 runs in Tests and become the fourth Indian to do so after batting greats Sachin Tendulkar (15,921 runs), Rahul Dravid (13,288) and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122).
Kohli's current tally reads 8,848 runs in 113 Tests at an average of 49, with 29 centuries and 30 fifties.
The India batting great also has the chance to overtake Ricky Ponting in the third spot for the most runs in international cricket across the three formats.
Kohli has a tally of 26,942 runs in 533 matches including Tests, ODIs and T20Is, and is fast closing in on Ponting, who finished with 27,483 runs in 560 games in his illustrious international cricket for Australia.
Tendulkar leads the list with 34,357 runs from 664 games by some margin from second placed Kumar Sangakkara, who had 28,016 runs from 594 games.
Among the active players, only Kohli stands in with the chance of getting close, if not break Tendulkar's incredible world record of 100 centuries in international cricket.
Currently, Kohli has 80 centuries, while the next best is England's Joe Root with 50 centuries and Rohit Sharma third with 48 hundreds.
Kohli, who hasn't enjoyed a great run with the bat in Test cricket in the last few years will aim for a good showing with the bat in the two Test series against Bangladesh, starting in Chennai from September 19.
Since January 2020, Kohli's record in Tests have been below par. He has scored 1,646 runs in 29 Tests at an average of 33, with just two centuries in the last four-and-a-half years.
In contrast from 2015 to 2020, he was in amazing form with the bat with 4,848 runs from 52 Tests at an average of 62, hitting 18 hundreds and 12 fifties.
Refreshed after a long break spent with the family in the UK, the 35 year old will be raring to get going against Bangladesh. He enjoys a good record against Bangladesh, with 437 runs from six matches at an average of 54, with two centuries.
Kohli's record at home is quite imposing. In 50 Tests played in India, Kohli has scored 4,144 runs at an impressive average of 60, which includes 14 centuries and 12 fifties.
Interestingly, he has played more Tests outside than in the country, with 63 of them overseas in which he has made 4,704 runs at an average of 42, with 15 hundreds and 18 fifties.
Ravindra Jadeja will also be aiming to etch his name in the record books during the Bangladesh series.
Jadeja needs six wickets to become only the third Indian to complete the double of 300 wickets and 3,000 runs in Tests.
The legendary Kapil Dev was the first Indian to achieve the landmark as he claimed 434 wickets and scored 5,248 runs in 131 Tests, while Ravichandran Ashwin has picked up 516 wickets and 3,309 runs in exactly 100 Tests.
Overall, only 10 all-rounders have so far completed the double in the history of Test cricket.
All-rounders who completed the double of 300 wickets and 3,000 runs in Tests:
| Shane Warne | 708 wickets and 3,154 runs |
| Stuart Broad | 604 wickets and 3,662 runs |
| Kapil Dev | 434 wickets and 5,248 runs |
| Ian Botham | 383 wickets and 5,200 runs |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 516 wickets and 3,309 runs |
| Richard Hadlee | 431 wickets and 3,124 runs |
| Shaun Pollock | 421 wickets and 3,781 runs |
| Imran Khan | 362 wickets and 3,807 runs |
| Daniel Vettori | 362 wickets and 4531 runs |
| Chaminda Vaas | 355 wickets and 3,089 runs |
Jadeja, currently on 294 wickets from 72 Tests, will become only the seventh Indian to go past 300 wickets in Tests after Anil Kumble (619 wickets), Ashwin (516), Kapil (434), Harbhajan Singh (417), Zaheer Khan (311) and Ishant Sharma (311).