Tag: Virat Kohli

Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli is on the verge of breaking a 76-year-old record of legendary Sir Don Bradman during the remaining matches of the Border-Gavaskar Test series against Australia.

Kohli landed in Australia with the weight of his below-par form and a 16-month century drought.

However, he turned things around in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar series, displaying a masterclass in strokeplay to mark his return to form with an unbeaten knock of 100 runs off 143 balls in the second innings.

This was Kohli’s 30th Test century, which took him ahead of Bradman, who had 29 Test hundreds to his name, in the list of batters with the most centuries in the format.

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Notably, this was Kohli’s 10th century from 43 matches on Australian soil. This impressive feat placed him second on the list for the most international centuries scored by a visiting batter in a single country.

Kohli has scored seven Test centuries, alongside three centuries in ODI matches in Australia.

The record for the most centuries by a visiting batter in a single country is currently held by Don Bradman, who notched up 11 centuries in just 30 innings in England between 1930 and 1948.

With four matches remaining in the Border-Gavaskar series, Virat Kohli is standing on the brink of history, with the opportunity to surpass the remarkable record of Bradman.

Most Centuries by a Visiting Batter in a Single Country

• Don Bradman (Australia) – 11 centuries vs. England
• Virat Kohli (India) – 10 centuries vs. Australia
• Jack Hobbs (England) – 9 centuries vs. Australia
• Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 9 centuries vs. Sri Lanka
• Vivian Richards (West Indies) – 8 centuries vs. England
• Sunil Gavaskar (India) – 7 centuries vs. England

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Legendary captain Ricky Ponting has advised struggling Australian batters Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith to follow Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli to regain their form ahead of the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Kohli, during the second innings of the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia, etched his name in the history books as he struck his 30th century in the format, going past legendary Sir Don Bradman‘s tally of Test hundreds.

Kohli walked out to bat on the third day carrying the weight of four single-digit scores in his last five innings and a 16-month century drought. He last scored a century during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 semi-final against New Zealand.

However, he displayed a masterclass in strokeplay, marking his return to form with an unbeaten knock of 100 runs off 143 balls, laced with eight boundaries and two sixes.

His innings propelled India to a commanding position before skipper Jasprit Bumrah declared with a staggering 533-run lead. In response, Australia crumbled to 238 all out in the final session on day four.

On the other hand, Australian batters struggled against a fiery pace attack of India. Labuschagne managed a mere five runs across two innings, while Smith was dismissed for a frustrating first-ball duck in the first innings and scored 17 runs in his second innings.

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Despite their disappointing displays, Ricky Ponting remained optimistic, believing that both players have the potential to regain their form.

“Marnus [Labuschagne] looked the most tentative out of all the batters in Perth. Yes, it was high-quality bowling on a difficult wicket, but he needs to find a way to turn it around,” Ponting told ICC Review.

“You have to find a way to take risks and put it back on those guys because you know Bumrahs of the world they’re not going to give you too many easy scoring opportunities and when they do you’ve got to be ready to pounce on it and put it away and try and put some pressure back on them.”

Ponting cited Kohli’s example and encouraged Australian batters to trust in their abilities, drawing a parallel to Virat Kohli, who overcame similar challenges.

“Virat went back to trusting his game and he looked like a different player in the second innings than he did in the first innings,” Ponting said.

“He got away from trying to combat the opposition and focused on his strengths. That’s what Marnus and (Steve) Smith need to do – find their own way and show great intent.”

READ: Australia suffer major blow ahead of second Border-Gavaskar Test against India

Kane Williamson has made history by becoming the first batter from New Zealand to score 9,000 runs in Test cricket. Moreover, he reached this milestone faster than some of the greatest Test batters, including Younis Khan and Virat Kohli.

Williamson achieved the historic milestone during the second innings of the ongoing first Test of the Crowe-Thorpe Trophy against England in Christchurch. The former New Zealand captain played a gutsy 61-run knock before he fell prey to Chris Woakes on Day 3.

He took 182 innings to reach the milestone, becoming the eighth quickest to score 9000 runs in Test cricket.

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In doing so, he surpassed many greats of the game, including Younis Khan, who took 184 innings, while current batters Joe Root and Virat Kohli, reached the landmark in 196 and 197 innings respectively.

Steve Smith is the only active batter who scored 9000 runs in fewer innings than Williamson, reaching it in 174 innings. Meanwhile, legendary Sri Lankan batter Kumar Sangakkara holds the record for being the fastest to the milestone with 172 innings.

It’s worth noting that Kane Williamson is New Zealand’s highest run-scorer of all-time, followed by Ross Taylor, who scored 7683 runs.

Fastest to 9000 runs in Test cricket

• Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) — 172
• Steve Smith (Australia) — 174
• Rahul Dravid (India) — 176
• Brian Lara (West Indies) — 177
• Ricky Ponting (Australia) — 177
• Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) — 178
• Sachin Tendulkar (India) — 179
• Kane Williamson (New Zealand) — 182

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Legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar recently compared star batter Virat Kohli with tennis legends Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Kohli, during the second innings of the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia, etched his name in the history books as he struck his 30th century in the format, going past legendary Sir Don Bradman‘s tally of Test hundreds.

Kohli walked out to bat on the third day carrying the weight of four single-digit scores in his last five innings and a 16-month century drought. He last scored a century during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 semi-final against New Zealand.

However, he displayed a masterclass in strokeplay, marking his return to form with an unbeaten knock of 100 runs off 143 balls, laced with eight boundaries and two sixes.

His innings propelled India to a commanding position before skipper Jasprit Bumrah declared with a staggering 533-run lead. In response, Australia crumbled to 238 all out in the final session on day four.

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Sunil Gavaskar praised Kohli for his brilliance and compared his recent struggles with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic’s occasional slumps.

“I said in commentary that Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal, they are title winners. But when they lose in the semi-finals of any tournament, people say that they are not in form. If anybody else makes it to the semis, they are praised,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

“Similarly, with Virat Kohli, because everybody is so used to him scoring so many hundreds quite regularly in international cricket. And when he doesn’t score a century, even if he is getting 70-80, which a lot of players will be happy to get, people say he is not scoring runs and is out of form.

“But then again, Indian fans, they’re greedy fans. They’re not going to be happy with their idol scoring only 60-70s. They want their icons, their idols, to score hundreds, and that is the reason there was this little talk about, ‘Oh, he hasn’t got a hundred since July 2023.’ July 2023 is just about a year ago.”

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India stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah heaped high praise on star batter Virat Kohli after the crushing victory over Australia in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth on Monday.

The Indian side arrived in Australia on the back of a humiliating 3-0 home series defeat to New Zealand.

Moreover, their captain Rohit Sharma and star batter Shubman Gill were not available for the first Test. In their absence, India were bundled for a meagre 150 runs in the first innings.

However, Bumrah led the team’s remarkable comeback as they booked Australia to 104 to take a 46-run lead.

India declared their second innings after posting a massive 487-6, setting Australia a mountainous 534-run target. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli struck dominant centuries to set up the mammoth total.

Kohli walked out to bat on the third day carrying the weight of four single-digit scores in his last five innings and a 16-month century drought. He last scored a century during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 semi-final against New Zealand.

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However, he displayed a masterclass in strokeplay, marking his return to form with an unbeaten knock of 100 runs off 143 balls, laced with eight boundaries and two sixes.

In response, Australia crumbled to 238 all out in the final session on day four against an inspired attack led by the irrepressible Jasprit Bumrah, who took 3-42 to claim eight wickets in the match.

Bumrah praised Jaiswal and Kohli highly while talking to the media after the victory. He termed Jaiswal’s knock against Australia as the best innings by the young batter.

“[Yashasvi] Jaiswal has had a great start to his Test career. This was his best Test innings probably. He has an attacking nature, but he left the ball well and played long,” Bumrah stated.

The star bowler praised Kohli and asserted he was not out of form, explaining that a batter’s form cannot be judged on challenging batting wickets.

“I didn’t see him [Virat Kohli] out of form at all. On challenging wickets, it’s hard to judge if a batsman is in form. He was looking good in the nets,” he concluded.

READ: How can India qualify for WTC final after crushing Australia in Perth Test?

Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli etched his name in the history books on Sunday with his 30th century in Test cricket, going past legendary Sir Don Bradman, during the first match of the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia.

Kohli walked out to bat on the third day carrying the weight of four single-digit scores in his last five innings and a 16-month century drought. He last scored a century during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 semi-final against New Zealand.

However, he displayed a masterclass in strokeplay, marking his return to form with an unbeaten knock of 100 runs off 143 balls, laced with eight boundaries and two sixes.

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His innings propelled India to a commanding position before skipper Jasprit Bumrah declared with a staggering 533-run lead.

Virat Kohli with his 30th Test century surpassed legendary Australian Sir Don Bradman, who had 29 Test hundreds to his name.

The Indian star has now joined Matthew Hayden and Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the elite group of players with 30 Test centuries. Only 14 players have scored more Test tons, with Kohli trailing active players Steve Smith and Kane Williamson in the tally.

Most Centuries in Test Cricket

• Sachin Tendulkar — 51
• Jacques Kallis — 45
• Ricky Ponting — 41
• Kumar Sangakkara — 38
• Rahul Dravid — 36
• Joe Root — 35
• Younis Khan, Sunil Gavaskar, Brian Lara, Mahela Jayawardene — 34
• Alastair Cook (ENG) — 33
• Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, Steve Waugh — 32
• Virat Kohli, Matthew Hayden, Shivnarine Chanderpaul — 30

It’s worth noting that this was Kohli’s seventh Test hundred in Australia, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most centuries in Australia by an Indian batter.

Overall Kohli has scored 10 centuries in Australia across all formats, which is a record by any visiting batter. Previously, the record was held by Jack Hobbs, who scored nine centuries in Australia.

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Stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah insisted Thursday that India were carrying no baggage from their Test whitewash by New Zealand and warned Australia that star batsman Virat Kohli was looking “ominous”.

India head into the first of five Tests against Australia on Friday in Perth on the back of their first home series loss in 12 years.

But speedster Bumrah, who will captain the side after Rohit Sharma stayed home following the birth of his second child, said they were only looking forward.

“The beauty about cricket is even if you win, you start from zero, and even if you lose you start from zero,” he told reporters. “So that’s how I look at the game.”

“Obviously, yes, we were disappointed and we were down that we had a tough series [against New Zealand].

“But we are not carrying any baggages. We come with a fresh mindset, different opposition and you learn from the changes that have happened in our team.”

With Rohit out, KL Rahul or Abhimanyu Easwaran are in line to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, while there are doubts over number three Shubman Gill who has hurt his thumb.

Their bowling line-up is also unclear. Bumrah said India had settled on who would partner him in the attack, but he would wait until the toss to reveal all.

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Kohli is certain to play but will stand up under increasing scrutiny after managing only two Test centuries in the last five years and averaging just 15 against New Zealand.

Despite signs that one of the world’s greatest batsmen may be past his best at 36, Bumrah cautioned that Kohli should never be written off.

Kohli holds a stellar record in Australia, having scored 1352 runs across 13 Tests at an average of 54.08 with six centuries and four half-centuries.

“He is one of the greats of the game,” said Jasprit Bumrah. “He’s the utmost professional that we have in our team. He’s got a lot of success.”

“Okay, one or two series here and there can go up and down, but the confidence that he has at this moment, I have no doubts.

“He’s looking to contribute. And the way I’ve seen him at training … the signs are ominous.”

With Bumrah taking the armband, the first Test will have two fast bowlers captaining their teams, with Pat Cummins in charge of Australia.

“I love the responsibility. I wanted to do the tough job since I was a child,” he said. “I’ve never followed a copybook plan… I’ve never followed a model and I go with my instincts and that’s how I’ve always played my cricket. I have a lot of faith in my instincts and gut.”

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Pakistan batter Babar Azam achieved a major milestone on Monday as he became the second-highest run-score in T20I cricket leaving behind Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli.

He reached the milestone during the third T20I of the three-match series against Australia in Hobart.

Babar played a 41-run knock from 28 balls, which featured four boundaries to set up Pakistan’s total of 117, which Australia successfully chased in 11.2 overs.

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The star batter has accumulated a total of 4,192 runs in the format, placing him tantalizingly just 39 runs short of the former Indian captain Rohit Sharma.

Sharma currently holds the top position on the all-time list with an outstanding tally of 4,231 runs.

Most runs in men’s T20Is

• Rohit Sharma (India) — 4231
• Babar Azam (Pakistan) — 4192
• Virat Kohli (India) — 4188
• Paul Stirling (Ireland) — 3655
• Martin Guptill (New Zealand) — 3531 runs

Moreover, Mohammad Rizwan, the captain of Pakistan’s white-ball cricket team, is the only other batter from the country among the Top 10 run-scorers in the format. Currently, Rizwan ranks seventh with an impressive total of 3,329 runs to his name.

Pakistan’s next T20I series will be against Zimbabwe, however, Babar and Rizwan are not part of the squad. The Green Shirts will play three T20I matches from 1-5 December under the captaincy of Salman Ali Agha.

Pakistan T20I Squad for Zimbabwe Tour: Salman Ali Agha (c), Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wk), Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Sufyan Moqim, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan

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Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has issued a stern warning to those doubters of Virat Kohli, emphasizing that the star batter could make a resounding comeback in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

Kohli has been under fire lately due to his below-par form, having scored a solitary half-century and averaging only 21.33 in five Test matches.

During India’s first-ever clean sweep at home in a three-match Test series against New Zealand, Kohli managed only 93 runs from six innings at an average of 15.50.

However, Shastri, who served as the head coach during Kohli’s tenure as captain, has shown his faith in the star batter.

“Well, the King is back in his territory. That’s all I will tell them,” Shastri stated in The ICC Review while responding to a question about Kohli’s critics.

The former all-rounder emphasized that Virat Kohli earned the title of ‘King’ due to his dominant batting performances in Australia, and he is likely to replicate his previous successes in the upcoming series.

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“When you’ve earned that title after your exploits in Australia, it will be on your [opponent’s] mind when you go out to bat.”

For the unversed, Kohli led India to their first-ever series victory in Australia during the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He holds a stellar record in Australia, having scored 1352 runs across 13 Tests at an average of 54.08 with six centuries and four half-centuries.

Ravi Shastri advised Virat Kohli to remain calm and play naturally, avoiding reckless dismissals like in the New Zealand series.

“Your juices are flowing, you’re charged up. It’s again a case with Virat. You want to see calmness because at times you are overeager to get out there and throw the first punch,” Shastri said.

“But I think that calmness in the first half an hour where he gets out to bat or in the first three innings of the series will be extremely important. If he can be calm and play the game at his own pace rather than being in a hurry, I think he’ll be fine.”

It’s worth noting that the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will start from November 22 in Perth. The second match will be played in Adelaide from December 6, followed by the third Test in Brisbane, scheduled from December 14-18.

The iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will host the fourth match from December 26, while the final Test will be played in Sydney from January 3.

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India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Monday backed “incredibly tough men” Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to prove their critics wrong and find form in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

Skipper Rohit and superstar batter Kohli came under fire after India suffered a humiliating 3-0 Test series defeat against New Zealand at their home soil.

Rohit scored 91 runs in three matches, while Kohli managed just 93.

Speaking just before India flew off to Australia for a blockbuster five-match Test series, Gambhir said he had “no concerns for Virat and Rohit”.

“They are incredibly tough men,” he said. “They’ve achieved a lot for Indian cricket and they will continue to achieve a lot in the future as well.”

Gautam Gambhir hit out at Ricky Ponting after the former Australia captain questioned the longer-term form of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

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“What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket?” Gambhir said.

Gambhir said the Indian team as a whole were eager to prove themselves after the New Zealand defeat, only their second Test series whitewash at home.

“I feel there is a lot of hunger, especially after what has happened in the last series,” he said.

Gambhir believes the biggest challenge in Australia will be the quicker pitches compared to India, where conditions are traditionally spin-friendly.

But Gambhir said his under-the-cosh side were ready to “fire from ball one” in a series that starts in Perth on November 22.

“We’ve been to Australia many times, so that experience will be crucial,” said the coach, who has also faced some flak.

“If we play to our potential, we play our best cricket, we can beat anyone on any wicket.”

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