India’s veteran batter Virat Kohli surpassed Virender Sehwag’s tally of runs to become the team’s fifth-highest run-getter in Test match cricket. Kohli achieved the milestone on the second day’s play against the West Indies at Windsor Park, Dominica on Thursday.
The right-hander remained unbeaten on 36 and leapfrogged Sehwag’s tally of 8503 runs in Test matches during his knock. Sehwag had scored these runs in 103 Test matches at an average of 49.43.
Meanwhile, legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar is the highest run-getter in Test cricket with 15921 runs in 200 Test matches at an average of 53.78. India’s current head coach Rahul Dravid is second on the list for India as he scored 13265 runs in 163 Test matches at an average of 52.63.
Sunil Gavaskar is the third-highest run-getter for India in Test matches as the former opener scored 10122 runs in 125 matches. VVS Laxman is fourth in the list with 8781 runs in 134 Test matches at an average of 45.91.
On the other hand, Kohli scored a solitary boundary in his knock and he was delighted after hitting a four. The talisman added 72 runs with Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored an unbeaten knock of 143 runs. India ended the second day’s play at 312, leading West Indies by a huge margin of 162 runs. Ergo, the tourists are in a commanding position to dictate terms.
Meanwhile, Kohli will also be looking to end his century drought in Test cricket while playing in overseas conditions. Kohli’s last hundred while playing away from home came against Australia in 2018.
Kohli has scored 28 Test centuries and as many fifties in his glorious career. Ahead of the opening Test, head coach Rahul Dravid had showered praise on Virat Kohli while recalling his Test debut against the West Indies in 2011.
“I remember Virat. It was his first Test series with the Indian team. He was this young kid who had done well in one-day cricket. He was just finding his feet in Test cricket. But you could see some special talent out there. You could see that he was going to be around there for a while.”
“How long you can never say, but he can be proud of his journey. I certainly never thought I would coach and come here so. It’s nice to see his journey, seen him go from being a young player on that trip to now being a senior player on the trip. It’s been great to see that journey,” said Dravid in a video uploaded on BCCI’s Twitter handle.