Virat Kohli slams his ninth Test century vs Australia: Stats
Indian batting great Virat Kohli has brought up his 30th century in Test cricket. He touched the three-figure mark on Day 3 of the first Test against Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth. The achievement comes after a tough year for Kohli in red-ball cricket and marks a major turnaround in his performance. Notably, the veteran smashed his ninth Test hundred vs Australia, out of which seven have come Down Under.
Kohli's comeback silences critics
Kohli's second innings performance in the ongoing match has been especially impressive. He could only manage five runs in his first outing. The 36-year-old brought up his fifty off 94 balls, hitting three fours and one six. Notably, the platform was set for Kohli as openers KL Rahul (77) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (161) added 201 runs. Meanwhile, India declared at 487/6 right after Kohli completed his hundred, setting Australia a massive target of 534 runs.
Kohli matches Tendulkar's record for most 50-plus scores
With this latest feat, Kohli has now equaled Tendulkar's record for the most 50-plus scores in SENA countries. This was his 74th 50 in these nations, equaling Tendulkar's achievement. Other Indian cricketers on this list are Rahul Dravid (60 fifties), Rohit Sharma (45), Sourav Ganguly (40) and MS Dhoni (38).
Kohli surpasses Haynes in this regard
Apart from equaling Tendulkar's record, Kohli has also gone past West Indies's Desmond Haynes by scoring his 23rd 50-plus Test score against Australia in Australia. He is now second on the list of most fifties scored against Australia on their home turf. The only player ahead of him is WI legend Vivian Richards with 36 Test fifties.
Kohli joins these names
Kohli's tally of seven Test tons in Australia is now the joint-second most for a visiting batter. He equaled England's Wally Hammond. Jack Hobbs, another Englishman, tops this list (9 hundreds). Kohli now also owns the joint-third-most Test hundreds vs Australia (9). Only Hobbs (12) and Tendulkar (11) are ahead in this regard. The Indian star also equaled Sunil Gavaskar in terms of most Test tons by an Indian in a foreign nation. The latter has seven hundreds in WI.
Nearly 1,500 Test runs in Australia
Across 14 Tests on Australian soil, Kohli has scored 1,457 runs at an average of 56.03, with a top score of 169, as per ESPNcricinfo. This includes seven centuries and four half-centuries. Among Indians, only the legendary Sachin Tendulkar (1,809) has scored more Test runs Down Under. Overall, Kohli has 2,147 Test runs against the Aussies at 48.79 (100s: 9, 50s: 5).
30th Test hundred for Kohli
Kohli remained unbeaten on 100 off 143 balls (8 fours, 2 sixes). He has now raced to 9,145 Test runs at 48.13. Besides his 30 tons, he also carries 31 fifties. 4,689 of his runs have come in away games at 43.41 (100s: 16). Tendulkar (51), Rahul Dravid (36), and Gavaskar (34) are the only ones with more Test hundreds for India.
Second Indian batter with this WTC record
Kohli surpassed 2,500 runs in the ICC World Test Championship. He owns 2,532 runs at 37.79. He is now the 2nd Indian batter after Rohit Sharma with 2,500 runs in the tournament.
