New Delhi. King Kohli’s cricketing journey has now become so vast that every step he takes is creating some record. This will also be seen in the India-South Africa series. If Virat Kohli performs as per his status against South Africa, it will not be surprising if he surpasses at least 5 batsmen in the most Test runs scored. Especially Kohli can surpass VVS Laxman and AB de Villiers in the first Test match itself. The Test series between India and South Africa will start from December 26.
Virat Kohli has been playing Test cricket since 2011. In these 12 years, he has played 111 Test matches. Kohli has so far scored 8676 runs at an average of 49.29 in 187 innings of 111 Test matches. It includes 29 centuries and 29 half-centuries. Kohli is at the 23rd position in terms of scoring the most runs in this ‘elite format’ of cricket. That means there are 22 batsmen who have scored more runs than Kohli. The tour to South Africa is an opportunity for Kohli to cement his place in the top 20 highest run-scoring batsmen.
If Virat Kohli scores 324 runs in the tour of South Africa, he will complete his 9000 Test runs. If King Kohli pulls off the feat, he can surpass VVS Laxman, AB de Villiers, Inzamam Ul Haq, Javed Miandad and Graham Gooch on his journey. Inzamam Ul Haq has 8830 runs in 120 Tests. Javed Miandad has 8832 runs in 124 Tests. Graham Gooch scored 8900 runs in 118 Test matches.
AB de Villiers’ name is currently ahead of Virat Kohli and VVS Laxman in the list of highest runs. VVS Laxman has scored 8781 runs in 134 Test matches at an average of 45.97. He scored 17 centuries and 56 fifties in his Test career. While AB de Villiers has scored 8765 runs at an average of 50.66 in 114 Test matches. That means Virat Kohli needs only 106 runs to overtake both of them.
As far as scoring the most runs in Test cricket is concerned, this record is held by Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin played 200 Test matches in his career. He scored 15921 runs in 329 innings of these matches. Sachin also holds the record for most Test centuries with 51.
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Tags: India vs South Africa, Virat Kohli, Vvs Laxman
First published: December 19, 2023, 06:55 IST