Virat Kohli has become the second fastest batsmen to scored 25 Test hundreds as he reached the milestone in 127 innings on Day 3 of the Perth Test between India and Australia at the brand new Optus Stadium. Don Bradman took just a mere 68 innings to score 25 Test hundreds but Kohli has left Sachin Tendulkar behind who took 130 innings to score as many hundreds in Tests.
This is Virat Kohli’s seventh Test hundred vs Australia while his 6th Down Under. In Oceania, Kohli has now scored 7th hundred while this is Indian captain’s 14th hundred in away Tests. This is also Virat Kohli’s 18th Test century as the captain of the team, which goes on to show exactly how much he has led his team from the front and has taken captaincy as a means to improve himself.
On Sunday, Virat Kohli brought up his 25th Test century and took India out of deep waters after he walked in to bat with Indian scoreboard reading 8/2. On a tough wicket that had quite a bit of bounce, Kohli reached his hundred in 214 deliveries.
With his sixth Test century in Australia, Kohli also equalled Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most Test centuries by an Indian Down Under. Ahead of this tour, Kohli had scored five hundreds — one in Adelaide in 2012 and four centuries if the 2014-15 tour which includes the twin hundreds at Adelaide.
Tendulkar and Kohli are the only two batsmen to slam six hundreds in Australia in the last 70 years.
Kohli also takes the second place in the list of most runs by a Test captain in away Tests in a calendar year. Virat Kohli has now scored 1029 runs in 10 Tests in 2018 while former South Africa captain Greame Smith tops the list, having scored 1212 runs in 11 matches in 2008.
Former Australia batsman Michael Hussey said on Saturday that he loved the intent with which Kohli batted and the Indian captain showed the same application from ball one on Sunday.
Starting the day on 82 not out, Virat Kohli took 12 overs on a new day to reach the three-figure mark. Once again the captain led from the front and tried to get India out of a precarious situation.
Earlier on the tour at Adelaide Oval, Kohli became the fastest Indian to score 1000 Test runs for India in Australia. He beat Don Bradman to the milestone by reaching the figure in nine Test matches while Don Bradman had reached the four-figure mark in his 10th Test at home.
On the way to this milestone, Kohli also became the only Indian skipper to score 2000 Test runs in away matches. He is also the first Indian captain to score 2000 Test runs both in India and overseas.
Kohli has now scored 1129 runs in 10 Tests in Australia at an average of 62.7. Kohli also has the second-best Test average among batsmen who have scored at least 500 Test runs in January 1, 2017.
Kane Williamson leads the list with an average of 67.47 in 20 innings. Kohli average 66.02 in 37 innings while Steve Smith is third with an average of 63.75 in 23 innings.
