Have you seen the Virat Kohli Double Century in Test Series against South Africa?
Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli had gone 10 innings without a century in Test cricket. This was quite surprising given the player he is and the kind of runs he scores so consistently across formats.
However, it doesn’t take long for batsmen of Kohli’s caliber to shrug off the starts and get a strong score. The 30-year-old announced his return to scoring a double century in style.
Kohli scored an unbeaten 254* in the ongoing 2nd Test against South Africa in Pune.
Virat Kohli Double Century heroics in the first innings saw India amass a massive score of 601/5 (declared).
On Friday, Kohli was himself playing like a hawk in the middle. He continued from where he left off on Day 1 and bossed the second day in style.
Kohli belonged to his zone and did what he does best.
This was vintage Kohli at his best. He looked hungry and cashed in to get that big daddy hundred.
He played as per the situation and increased the tempo when needed. The Proteas couldn’t match Kohli’s intensity and hence weren’t in the game.
Enroute his majestic double ton, the right-handed Kohli went on scripting a host of records.
He surpassed many legends as well and took his Test journey to another level for Team India.
Virat Kohli Double Century was one of the best innings at home by the star batsman, who rallied on and earned a lot of plaudits for his efforts.
Here we present you with the top Test records amassed by Virat Kohli Double Century in the first innings for the side.
Virat Kohli Double Century in Test – the most double hundreds by Indian batsmen in Tests
This record comes right at the top in this Kohli masterclass.
Ahead of this innings, he had six double hundreds to his name.
However, Kohli went on to bag the seventh, which also ended up being his best score in Test cricket.
He was tied with Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag (6 each).
Kohli currently is fourth in the list for most double centuries
behind Sir Donald Bradman (12), Kumar Sangakkara (11) and Brian Lara (9).
However, he went on to equal the likes of Wally Hammond and Mahela Jayawardene (seven each).
| RUNS | BALLS | OPPONENT | VENUE | PERIOD | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 254* | 336 | South Africa | Pune | 2019/20 | In progress |
| 243 | 287 | Sri Lanka | Delhi | 2017/18 | Draw |
| 235 | 340 | England | Mumbai | 2016/17 | Won |
| 213 | 267 | Sri Lanka | Nagpur | 2017/18 | Won |
| 211 | 366 | New Zealand | Indore | 2016/17 | Won |
| 204 | 246 | Bangladesh | Hyderabad | 2016/17 | Won |
| 200 | 283 | West Indies | North Sound | 2016 | Won |
The King goes past Bradman, Smith with this feat
Kohli went past several legends in terms of career Test runs.
The Indian captain surpassed the 7,000-run mark in Test cricket and currently sits on 7,054 runs.
With this mark, the middle-order batsman surpassed the likes of Dilip Vengsarkar (6,868), Sanath Jayasuriya (6,973), Steve Smith (6,973) and GOAT Don Bradman (6,996).
One expects to see Kohli keep amassing a bountiful of runs and get past several other legends in the game.
Meanwhile, Kohli also surpassed Bradman (8) in terms of most 150-plus scores in Test cricket (9).
The superb Kohli notched his 26th Test ton to equal Australia’s Smith and Gary Sobers (26 each).
Interestingly, this was his 12th century on home soil and an overall 69th across formats in international cricket.
A glimpse why Kohli is the best Test batsman as captain
The Indian skipper now holds the record of scoring most Test runs as a captain in India, going past former hero Sunil Gavaskar.
Kohli broke his own highest individual score by an Indian captain.
His previous best was 243 against Sri Lanka at his home ground in Delhi in 2017/18.
Notably, of the 11 double centuries scored by Indian captains in Test cricket, seven of them belong to Kohli.
The previous highest by an Indian captain against South Africa was Tendulkar’s 169 in Cape Town in 1996/97.
Kohli notched his 19th Test century as a captain.
With this feat, he equaled former Australian captain Ricky Ponting in terms of centuries as a Test skipper (19).
Former Proteas skipper Graeme Smith (25) leads the show and one feels Kohli will soon get past the southpaw as well.
As a captain, he also notched another top record.
He became the fourth player to score a ton in the 50th match as captain in Tests.
He joined Stephen Fleming, Alastair Cook, and Steve Waugh.
Kohli shows why he thrives in partnerships in Test cricket
The Indian batsman is well known for his habit of stitching important partnerships in the longest format.
That has been his hallmark of the success he has enjoyed.
Test batting is all about partnerships and nobody else knows this better than the 30-year-old.
Kohli and half-centurion Ajinkya Rahane shared a glossy 178-run stand for the fourth wicket.
This was their sixth 150-plus partnership in Test cricket.
Notably, this was also their ninth century-plus stand for the fourth wicket.
The two batsmen equaled former Pakistan heroes Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf.
Post his record-breaking stand with Rahane, the Indian skipper then added 225 runs for the fifth wicket.
This is now India’s highest stand against South Africa surpassing the 220-run mark between Tendulkar and Sehwag in Bloemfontein in 2001/02.